Wake Up
by Tempest Wind Hollow
Summary: shonen-ai! BxR First 3 chappies re-done! Bakura is slightly OOC in the first couple of chapters, but the rest is pretty good...The Turning revealed! Bakura is challenged by Marik for the final time... COMPLETE!
1. Wake Up

Me: alrightea! Finally got around to re-doing the first chappie! ^^ If you want a summery of what happened before, you may read just about any B/R beat down fic! Otherwise, stay tuned for future changes in later chappies!  
  
Ryou: yay! I no longer have to suffer merciless beatings from my yami's general direction!   
  
Bakura: took you long enough... I thought you had completely forgotten about this!  
  
Me: ^^;; well, close to it... At least it's getting done.  
  
Disclaimer: Erin-chan does not, I repeat, DOES NOT own anything whatsoever in the ways of something as great as an anime show! All shall bow to my superiority! Oh, yes, this song also belongs to Alanis Morsette. Did I spell that right? The song's called 'Wake Up', if you couldn't guess.   
  
Me: for anyone who wants to know, this chapter was re-done after I finished with chapter 7 (not including the author's note).  
  
*  
  
Wake Up Chapter 1  
  
"Eh, I think I should be getting home soon, Yuugi. I wouldn't want to...er...miss anything." The English-accented boy waved a farewell to one of his few friends. "See you tomorrow, okay?"   
  
The tri-coloured boy stood helpless as he watched the albino leave the school grounds. Its too bad Yuugi had to stay after school for one of his sensei (teacher). He would have liked to walk him home. "Not like he would have let me anyway, I guess." He sighed, wishing Ryou would open up a bit. He was so secretive about his home life.   
  
//Yuugi...why did you not follow him? Don't you worry sometimes? // Yugi sighed again. Mou hitari no Yugi was usually worrying about something or other.   
  
/...I dunno, Yami. I have to stay for Weir-san*. Remember? I'm helping to organize the language papers... / the young boy headed inside the school, deciding to pop over to Ryou-kun's house after he was done.  
  
*  
  
Ryou briskly walked home. Bakura wouldn't be happy that he had stopped to talk to Yuugi after school.   
  
A tear squeezed its way past Ryou's eyelid. Forcefully wiping it away, the tenshi refused to cry in front of his other side. Bakura wouldn't tolerate them.   
  
You like snow, but only if it's warm  
  
You like rain, but only if it's dry  
  
No sentimental value for the rose that fell on your floor  
  
No fundamental excuse for the granted I'm taken for  
  
Coming to the doorway, Ryou cautiously pushed the barrier open. Rushing inside like a mouse, he hastily shut the door, hoping he hadn't made too much noise. Bakura seemed to be in a bad mood lately. He put his shoulder bag down by the door and decided to go up to his room for the afternoon. He would take care of his Chemistry afterwards.   
  
Running up the maple staircase, the hikari strode down the narrow hallway. He touched the poster adorning his door; the one that had a young boy standing in the middle of a hurricane on one side, and the other held a shower of colours and joy. Ryou sighed. Sometimes he wondered what he had been thinking when his father gave that to him about four years ago, before the Sennen Ring. He turned the doorknob clock-wise, waiting for the click before pushing it open.   
  
Ryou never heard that click. Bakura had come up behind him from the hall and thrust his hand away from the golden sphere.   
  
"You're late." The dark had no expression on his face whatsoever.   
  
Ryou froze. "I...um, had to talk to Yuugi about something. I'm sorry," he mumbled, staring at the ground.  
  
"About what?" Bakura spoke before Ryou could answer. "Never mind. I don't want to know." He felt a sudden pulse in his arm. Why shouldn't he hit him? His light was weak anyway. Raising his hand to strike, Bakura started to lower his hand before he saw Ryou cringe, awaiting to blow. Why didn't he defend himself?! You think he would after a while. The yami almost stopped before he thrust his arm down, getting it over with. He couldn't deal with these problems.   
  
Coming in contact, Ryou cried out as a bit of blood flew out his mouth. Bakura almost flinched at the tainted skin, and swiftly turned to leave for the basement. It was just easier.  
  
'Cause it's easy not to  
  
So much easier not to  
  
And what goes around   
  
Never comes around to you  
  
*   
  
Ryou lay sniffling on his bed, thinking about the knife he kept hidden in his worn jeans in the bottom of his closet. Not to kill, to cut. To inflict pain on himself. Bakura obviously didn't care about him, he never did. That, or he just chose not to notice the scarred tissue hidden underneath the two or three sweaters Ryou always had on. Sometimes the hikari would wonder why his dark didn't care at all. Maybe he was too weak for him, or something.  
  
He probably didn't think the same way about guys, anyway. Ryou had started cutting about three years ago. A gang of boys found out and started their weekly ritual of calling him a whore and a fag, throwing stones and clumps of dirt at him when Ryou walked home from school, not seeing the tears gathering in his eyes; they were kept suppressed. No one at that point seemed to care that he even existed. His father, as an archaeologist, spent long periods of time in Egypt and North Africa looking for ruins of lost kings, sometimes sending his son money, presents and short notes on his latest address. He had become very anti-social after Ryou's mother and sister died.  
  
You like pain, but only if it doesn't hurt too much  
  
You sit, and you wait, to receive  
  
There's an obvious attraction to the path of least resistance in your life  
  
There's an obvious aversion no amount of my insistence   
  
Could make you try tonight  
  
When Ryou received the Ring shortly after and discovered Bakura, he finally thought he had found a friend, maybe more. Unfortunately, he was anything but. Bakura had thrown him down, sneered and stated his name before leaving the mortally wounded tenshi on the floor of his room for the first time.  
  
'Cause it's easy not to  
  
So much easier not to  
  
And what goes around   
  
Never comes around to you  
  
Just as Ryou was about to reach for his blade, the singsong voice of the doorbell wavered in the tense air. "Who could that be?" Knowing Bakura could care less about people at the door, Ryou sat up and, wallowing in self-pity, he pitched himself forwards off the bed and headed for the door, curious of the intruder of his 'time of reflection*', which never really ended in anything positive, anyway...  
  
Sulking, the albino gracefully jumped down the staircase and opened the door.   
  
"Yuugi? What are you doing here? Did you forget something your homework?" Ryou felt his face flush. Yuugi couldn't be here! What would Bakura do? He would certainly ask to come in...  
  
"No, I just thought I'd pop over to see you, Ryou-kun. Is this a bad time, or something?" He tilted his head a bit, giving a dog-like aura about him.   
  
"N-no. Of course not! Would you like to come in?" Well, what was he supposed to say? Yes, this is a very bad time, Yuugi. My yami's mad and abusive and would probably beat me up later if you came in, but why don't you come in anyway to watch him fume? There's no way Ryou was going to tell anyone about Bakura. Sure, he did hurt him, but it was almost like Ryou looked forwards to when he hit him. Even for the split second of his rough hand on his skin seemed like everything was okay, and staying like that. At least, until the sharp pain came in. If he ever told anyone that, they would probably think Ryou was crazy, or something. It was not something easy to explain, so he just didn't. They would want to send Bakura to the Shadow Realm.   
  
But it's easier not to  
  
So much easier not to.  
  
And what goes around   
  
Never comes around to you, to you, to you  
  
Yuugi looked curiously at the light-haired boy. "Sure." Stepping inside, Yuugi chose a comfortable-looking spot on the couch.   
  
//Yuugi, I'm going to come out, all right? I want to ask Ryou something. // The violet-eyed boy nodded subtly and was then enveloped in a blanket of ethereal light, emitting from his Sennen Puzzle.   
  
Yami looked up, opening his eyes to the Bakura's living room. "Ryou?"   
  
The albino looked at Mou hitari no Yuugi in shock. Yuugi was enough for Bakura to blow up, what would he say to the Pharaoh? "Umm, umm, yeah?" He could feel beads of sweat accumulating on the back of his neck. Bakura was coming up from the basement. His muscles clenched. He was at the top of the stairs.  
  
Yami started to say something before he heard the creak of the basement door. "Ah, Bakura. Just who I want to see." Yami stood up, facing the other dark.   
  
Bakura looked first at him, then at Ryou. Why was the pharaoh here?! His spiked hair bristled. "Get out of my house, Pharaoh, before I make you." There was a threatening tone buried within his words. "Why are you here?"  
  
The pharaoh narrowed his eyes at the tomb robber's lack of disrespect. "Just to check out the living conditions for Ryou here. I'm sure you're not the one to care for him." He crossed his arms in dismay. He should have done this sooner.   
  
The hikari, who, up until this point had pressed himself against the couch, sprang to life. "I-I'm fine, Yami. Really! You shouldn't worry about me." Ryou added a pleading look to finish his lie. Yami no Yuugi had to believe him... He would take Bakura away from him...   
  
Get up, get up, get up off it  
  
The pharaoh stared at Ryou, as if to figure out what he was playing at before turning around. "All right, Ryou. I do trust you." He shot a seething glare at Bakura. "But if I hear anything happens, you will hear back from me, tomb robber." With that as he leaving sentence, Yami strode out the door for the night.  
  
Bakura turned away from his hikari. "Why did you say that?" It was more of a statement then a question.  
  
Ryou let out his breath, which he hadn't even known he had been holding. "I...I didn't want them to hurt you, Bakura. I'm sorry."   
  
He bowed his head.  
  
Get up, get up, get up off it  
  
The yami frowned at his answer. Why didn't Ryou want him to be hurt? Bakura had hit him enough times. What was this kid's problem? Why did he still... Bakura thought back to when Ryou had first freed him. He had asked him whether he wanted to be his friend or not. But all Bakura could do at this point in time was to strike him down. He hadn't understood what the young boy had asked for he had only known Egyptian at the time. Through the link though, he had learned his language.  
  
Get out; get outta here, enough already  
  
Swiftly turning towards the door, Bakura left into the starless night. He needed to think about things without constant interruptions. He made sure to slam the door behind him, leaving a heartbroken Ryou behind.   
  
Get up, get up, get up off of it  
  
Falling onto the couch in desperation, Ryou began to cry again. "Because I love you, yami. That's why."  
  
Wake up  
  
*  
  
Me: eh heh, gomen, Mr. Weir is my English teacher. He's really cool. If he were in some library, his name would be Weir D.! Hee hee, and yes, he is very strange...*shifty eyes* and the 'reflection time' was really just some random thing I stuck in for my own benefit. ^^;;  
  
Ryou: *sniffle* that was sad...  
  
Bakura: Ah, well. At least I'm not the heartless bastard I was before. Erin-chan must've been having mental problems back then, or something... *shakes head*  
  
Me: ^^;; Shut up, Baku-chan! I did not!  
  
Ryou: ^^;; well, anyway... R/R, mina-san! Onegai? *chibi-eyes* 


	2. Break Me Shake Me

Me: well, I wanted to post the revised chapter one and two together so... it took me a bit longer...  
  
Bakura: good, it wouldn't have made much sense if you kept this the same too. The two chappies have almost nothing in common...   
  
Me: did you just say chappies?  
  
Bakura: ...shut up...  
  
Disclaimer: what does it sound like I should say? Erin-chan doesn't even own the song, Break Me Shake Me by Savage Garden...  
  
*  
  
Bakura headed for the Domino Park. He always went there if he needed to think about something. Dropping to the base of his favourite tree, Bakura held his face in his hands. He still didn't understand why Ryou had chose to protect him from Yami. Thinking back to his own past, Bakura sorted through his memories, looking for something other then torture, rape or angst. Not much... He sneered. Why did he care, anyway? Ryou was weak, and he had been taught to punish the weak, not protect them. It was every man for himself, back then.  
  
Really looking at it, he came up with the idea that he had needed to take out his long years of suffering on someone. Unfortunately, that someone happened to be his own t*-hikari. A fluorescent blush quickly spread his across face as he mentally corrected himself. Why did he keep thinking things like that? I wasn't like Bakura cared for Ryou, or anything like that...right? "Dammit, why me? Why HIM?" He began to take very short breaths, on the verge of a breakdown. Stopping himself before he could, Bakura slumped his shoulders and let himself drain of energy. That kid was a...a... "I can't even say it anymore."  
  
I never thought I'd change my opinion again   
  
But you moved me in a way that I've never known   
  
You moved me in a way that I've never known  
  
Marik walked up from behind a shadowed tree next to the distressed yami's. "Bakura..." Marik smirked.   
  
"Go away." His smirk turned into a soft chuckle. "Do I have to repeat myself, Marik?" Bakura let out a growl.  
  
"Why do you bother trying to hide it? It's so obvious. To all but the one in question, I guess. You love your hikari, yet you still beat the crap outta him when you want, were you want." His eyes narrowed to mere slits. "I'm your oldest friend, believe it or not. I can read you like these damned scriptures on my back with or without this." He chastely held the rod up.  
  
"Damn you, Marik. Why don't you go ruin someone else's life?" Bakura managed to raise his head from his arms.  
  
But straight away you just moved into position again   
  
You abused me in a way that I've never known   
  
You abused me in a way that I've never known  
  
"Because you're the only one I know that takes the 'You only hurt the ones you love' quote-thing too seriously. So answer me this one question: why?" His arms were crossed now.  
  
"I-I don't know. Go away. Just...go away." The yami turned around so Marik couldn't see the tears cascading down his face. Why did he have to be so Ra-damned weak?!  
  
Marik stayed where he was, offering no condolence. "Would you like me to stay for a while?" He walked over to kneel next to me and buried his nose in my limp hair. Bakura sighed in defeat.  
  
"Yeah, sure, whatever." He relaxed my tense muscles. "Marik?"  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Could you keep your presence there a secret for now? Ryou still doesn't know I can come out of the ring without his body or energy to support me in physical form."  
  
"Hey, Malik won't miss me. I've disappeared like this before. Don't worry about it, friend."  
  
"Arigato..." Maybe he'd be able to control himself better with Marik around for moral support.   
  
"Let's go to the club for a bit first. It's only 8:00, y'know. No one will be there yet." Bakura nodded, not really registering what Marik had suggested. He just wanted to get away for a bit.  
  
So break me shake me hate me take me over   
  
When the madness stops then you will be alone   
  
Just break me shake me hate me take me over   
  
When the madness stops then you will be alone  
  
~* Later that night*~  
  
Marik had been absent-mindedly staring at Bakura for the last twenty minutes over his sake. It had become quite unnerving to the albino yami. "What are you trying to figure out, Marik?"  
  
"Nothing you would be interested in. Just your past...did your fa-I mean, master beat you often?"  
  
"...Yes..." Bakura looked at the ground, forcing the tears back. He had not cried in 3004 years, he wasn't about to start now. "I could show you the whole thing, if you wish." Marik nodded in agreement. "Just put the ring on, and point it at me." He looked at him curiously, but did as he was told. "It's the same thing as Isis's tauk. I'm sure you've had experience with that, at least. Relax and let it fill your mind. Like that...yeah." Marik closed his eyes peacefully, as he had done many times before, and let Bakura's memories take control.  
  
~*Flashback*~  
  
"N-no, father! Please..." Young Bakura was doubled over, kneeling in pain. Coughing violently, he sprayed blood over their straw-woven 'carpet', if you could call the threadbare thing that.   
  
So your the kind that deals with the games in the mind   
  
Well you confused me in a way that I've never known   
  
You confused me in a way that I've never known  
  
"Shut up, bitch! How can you beg for mercy if you had killed your own mother and sister?!" Tears welled up in the youngster's eyes.   
  
"I-I didn't, father! It was the palace men! Really!"  
  
"Shut up, whore!! I didn't tell you to talk! You spout nothing but lies! There is and was no palace men in Kuru-Eruna* Village!" he had been drinking the previous morn, and liked nothing more then to torture his slave. Bakura was not his son. A son would not have destroyed his kin, village civilians and countless houses.   
  
Bringing down the whip as hard as he could, the man relished the sound of human pain. He whipped him again and again, not knowing when he should stop.  
  
So break me shake me hate me take me over   
  
When the madness stops then you will be alone   
  
Just break me shake me hate me take me over   
  
When the madness stops then you will be alone  
  
"Nyah! Huhch!" Bakura tried to keep himself off the ground like a weakling. Gritting his teeth to chase away some of the stinging pain, he could feel he blood ooze from between the cracks of his mouth and from his scarred back. He really didn't kill his mother, he didn't! Some fourteen palace men had come to his small village for something... sacrifices, as he remembered it as. They had killed 99 people, and Bakura was the only one to see them. Everyone else was either caught and killed, or one of the sacrifices. It was for the forging of something or other...he couldn't remember. Only the screams for mercy and shrieks of pain stuck in his mind.  
  
She says, "I can help you, but what do you say?"   
  
But it's not for free baby, you'll have to pay   
  
You just keep me contemplating, that your soul is slowly fading  
  
Bringing the whip down for the thousandth time, his father decided that was enough for the night. He was getting tired of swinging his arm around like that. Spitting a few last venomous words at him before heading into the other room for the night, he left his slave there to wallow in self-pity. It was the last night he would ever see.   
  
God don't you know I live with a ton of regret?   
  
'Cause I used to move you in a way that you've never known   
  
But then I accused you in a way that you've never known   
  
But you hurt me in a way that I've never known...  
  
~*End Flashback*~  
  
Marik solemnly sat at the table in complete silence, hands intertwined, holding his head up. "So that's what it was. What made you do those things to everyone around you. It took me three years to gain your trust." Not saying another word, they headed out the door, a shadowed pair walking down the street together, not saying a word to each other.  
  
Break me shake me hate me take me over   
  
When the madness stops then you will be alone   
  
Just break me shake me hate me take me over   
  
When the madness stops then you will be alone   
  
Listen, baby   
  
You'll be, you'll be alone   
  
Break me shake me hate me take me make me   
  
Fake me break me shake me hate me take me   
  
Break me  
  
*  
  
Me: gomen for writing such a short chapter, but I also have to re-do the third chappie tonight, and half of the original chappie is gone!  
  
Ryou: since she's pressed for time, Erin-chan will not have a long author's note at the end of this. A few things about this chappie: * = Bakura had almost said tenshi, Japanese for 'angel', unable to show emotion for his hikari, me, he decided to change the wording around a bit. ^^;; Kuru-Eruna Village is where Bakura lived in Egypt. I'm not sure if she spelled it right, though...the sacrifices were for the creation of the Sennen Items.   
  
Me: r/r, mina-san! 


	3. Crash and Burn

Me: okay, no long a/n. I have to post this tonight before 11:00.  
  
Disclaimer: Erin-chan does not have control of the glory of either Yu-Gi-Oh!, or Crash and Burn by Savage Garden. Okay?  
  
*  
  
  
  
Ryou lay on the couch for who knows how long, thinking about Bakura, his yami. Why wouldn't he open up to him? Why was he so hateful? Why...did his yami not care for him the way Ryou cared for him? He could not cry any more. He had enough of that. Crying was weak, showing emotions through crystalline droplets.   
  
All Ryou really wanted was for Bakura to accept him, if not love him.   
  
When you feel all alone  
  
And the world has turned it's back on you  
  
Give me a moment please  
  
To tame your wild, wild heart  
  
The room seemed to cool down instantly, although the central air wasn't on. That meant that Bakura had entered the same room he was in. Not a good thing, he was probably coming home to fume. Ryou took quick refuge behind the couch.   
  
Closing the door, the albino stopped and looked around, probably for him. Even though the tenshi was terrified, something was different...Bakura didn't seem to have that hostile aura about him like he usually did...  
  
//Ryou?// The mind link? Why did he use that? And he'd have never called him by name, much less his first. What if...he's changed?  
  
/Y-yes, Bakura-sama*?/ Out of the small crack between the wall and the couch, Ryou could see him recoil ever so slightly at the title.  
  
//Call me Bakura or something...where are you?//  
  
The hikari's heart felt like a great weight had been lifted off it. /Behind...the couch./ Bakura bit his bottom lip gently and crept over to where he was hiding. Ryou could see a great deal of hurt in his eyes as he saw the fear in his own.  
  
"Ryou..."Bakura kneeled down. "If you're still angry or scared of me...I can go into the Sennen Ring for as long as you want." His eyes widened slightly. How many times before had he thought of this? But...now he felt safe around him. Maybe he did change...  
  
I know you feel like the walls  
  
Are closing in on you  
  
It's hard to find relief  
  
And people can be so cold  
  
When darkness is on your door  
  
And you can't take it anymore  
  
Let me be the one to call  
  
If you jump  
  
I'll break your fall  
  
Lift you up   
  
And fly away into the night  
  
"No, it's alright. C...can you help me up, though?" I waited for it. A kick in the ribs, a punch in the face...but nothing came, save the hand held out. "B-Bakura," Ryou braved a look at his yami. "Thanks."  
  
He smiled and put his other arm around his light's waist for support, pulling him up. Ryou had regained balance for some odd seconds before accidentally stumbling...right into Bakura. The force was enough to send them both crashing onto the carpeted floor. Using his developed reflexes, Bakura firmly wrapped his arms around Ryou's and twisted in mid-air so he would take the fall, unfortunately right on his shoulder.  
  
"Itai*! Damn, that hurt! Are...you okay?" Bakura released him from his tight grip to brace his shoulder with his hands.  
  
"Yes, thank you." Ryou's eyes had welled with tears. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to fall into you, Bakura! Please...don't hurt me." Bakura was surprised at his last comment.  
  
"I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you, Ryou." He paused there for a few seconds "I, even though I didn't put it in the nicest way...I, love you." WOAH! Hold up! Did he just say...he loved him?! Bakura pulled Ryou into a soft and sincere kiss. When he didn't respond out of shock, he backed away, thinking he had done something wrong. The light touched his lips with the long slender fingers belonging to the tenshi, still looking awestruck. "Oh Ra! I...oh god! I-I need to, go...for a walk." He rushed out the door, still red in the face. As he slammed the door Ryou noticed that he had promptly forgot his coat.  
  
"So he did it then. Bakura told you?" He twisted around at the foreign sound.  
  
"Marik? Why...are you here? What about-"  
  
"Malik? He'll be fine. As for why I'm here, Bakura asked me to stay, probably for your own sake. Humm..." Marik stopped for a second, then looked like he had made up his mind. "Do you know about his past? Back in Egypt, I mean." Ryou shook my head no. The Egyptian started telling him the story of Bakura's past, just as he had witnessed it.   
  
"But...that's, that's awful... I'm curious, Marik. Does he really...love me?"  
  
If you need to fall apart  
  
Well I can mend a broken heart  
  
If you need to crash  
  
Then crash and burn  
  
You're not alone  
  
When you feel all alone  
  
And a loyal friend is hard to find  
  
You're caught in a one-way street  
  
With the monsters in your head  
  
"...Yes, he does. You have no idea how hard it was to work up the courage to tell you, too. He must really see you as something special." Marik looked just a bit concerned about something. Ryou let it go, as the lighting was a bit off, anyway.  
  
"Yeah...well I'm bit...worn out. I'll be in my room if you need anything. If Bakura comes back, please thank him for me." He yawned and headed up the stairs, though having no intention of sleeping.  
  
As he reached my room, Ryou decided that he should probably clean up a bit. Starting with his scattered clothes and working his way around the rest of the room until he finally reached the bed. "God, Bakura. If only you were here..." Damn! Now I can't even talk to him...  
  
//R-Ryou?// Oh yeah! The mind link! Kami-sama, he was stupid.  
  
/Yes? I'm...why did you run away?/  
  
//Ryou, Gomennasi*. I just...needed to get some air. Sorry if I scared you.//  
  
/...please come home, Bakura.../  
  
//...Do ka, shimashita ka.*//  
  
/Genki desu*, Marik told me about your past...did, he, really beat you like that? /  
  
//...//  
  
/Bakura?/  
  
//...Hai*...// Oh, Kami. Marik...was right.  
  
When hopes and dreams are far away  
  
And you feel like you can't face the day  
  
Let me be the one to call  
  
If you jump, I'll break your fall  
  
Lift you up  
  
And fly away into the night  
  
If you need to fall apart  
  
Well I can mend a broken heart  
  
If you need to crash  
  
Then crash and burn  
  
You're not alone  
  
Cause there has always been heartache and pain  
  
And when it's over you'll breathe again  
  
You'll breathe again  
  
When you feel all alone  
  
And the world has turned it's back on you  
  
Give me a moment please  
  
To tame your wild, wild heart  
  
Let me be the one to call  
  
If you jump, I'll break your fall...  
  
Me: whew! All done! The translations are as follows:  
  
-Sama=title of respect, Itai=a scream of pain in Japanese (well, duh), Gomennasi=sorry, Do ka, shimashita ka=Are you okay?, Genki desu=I'm fine, Hai=yes. Whew...  
  
Bakura: well, you're finally done. Do you feel better that you don't have merciless beat down fics anymore?  
  
Me: ^^ yes, as a matter of fact! This chappie wasn't changed that much, actually. Only the very begging and it went from Ryou's P.O.V. to normal.  
  
Bakura: well, as normal as this fic can get, anyway... *shifty eyes*  
  
Ryou: see ya in chappie 8! ^^// r/r, mina!  
  
Me: Ja! 


	4. If My Heart Had Wings

Me: I'm back! The fourth Chappie! YAY! 

Ryou: Oh my God! Did someone feed her sugar again?

Me: WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Angela: WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Ryou: O.o What the hell? When did you get here?

Angela: *glomps Yugi*

Yugi: GAK! Can't…breathe…

Ryou: yeah, I thought you'd have too heavy of a hangover from all that sugar!

Me: oh, shut up, will you? It's not like I ate ALL of those pixie sticks *shifty eyes*

Yugi: *sweatdrop*

Angela: I'm here! The fun has arrived!

Me: I'm already here, dumbass!

Angela: *chokes on 3 foot long pixie stick* WHAT THE HELL?!

Me: *snickers* this chapter has some heavy fluff, and I mean HEAVY fluff. And there's a P.O.V. change right before it, so consider that a warning, song lyrics are in italics (do I even have to say that anymore?)

Ryou:    /hikari to yami/       //yami to hikari//

Bakura: Ryou=Bakura, Bakura=Yami Bakura, Marik=Yami Marik, Malik=Marik

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakura's P.O.V.

 //...Hai...// Ryou knew? Why had Marik told him? To partially explain my actions before? So many questions were floating around in my head; I almost drove straight into some old woman, who apparently had some teenagers living with her based on the choice of language.

 "Damn you, biker! Go ride over someone who isn't as pissed as I am!" sweatdrop…

Damn these old wheels 

_Rolling to slow_

_I stare down this white line_

_With so far to go_

_Headlights keep comin'_

_Loneliness hummin' along_

 /What are you doing, Bakura? /

 //Running over some old woman…accidentally, of coarse! //

  /Riiight…are you coming home anytime soon? /

 /Y-yeah…right now I guess. //

 /M'kay. I'll see you later then…and Bakura? Thanks. /

 //For…huh? Oh! Yeah, I'll see you soon then. // Oh well. At least he isn't mad at me for...that. Heck, if I'm lucky, he enjoyed it. Too bad I was never terribly lucky...

~Upon arriving home~

 "Bakura! I was begging to worry, thinking an old woman had gang-beaten you or something!" Marik put his hands on his hips and let out a full belly laugh.

 "Oh Ra! Marik, did you get into the liquor cabinet again?!?"

 "Yes, actually. Ryou's upstairs, if you're wondering."

 "Oh, yeah. I think I'll head up there then."

 "Okay! Try not to screw him to mu-" A giant pillow found it's way to Marik's head, knocking him over.

_Who poured this rain_

_Who made these clouds_

_I stare through this windshield_

Thinking out loud 

_Time keeps on crawling_

_Love keeps on calling me home_

 "Bakura? Is that you?" A small voice came from Ryou's quilt-cladding bed. 

 "Yeah, you okay? Sorry for running out...I just needed to collect myself."

 Ryou pulled himself from the blankets to reveal his half-dressed body and sat up. "Will you...stay with me?"

 "Sure." I gave a reassuring smile and walked over, kicking off my shoes. I slowly sat on the exposed part of his bed. Ryou lay back down, pulling me with him. My head hit the pillow with a whumph. 

 "I love you too 'Kura." His light British accent was enough to make anyone's heart melt. I turned onto my side to warmly embrace my hikari. My nose was nuzzled deep into his silky albino hair, his face pressed into my chest. Ryou raised his head, nose teasing my lips.

Normal P.O.V.

 Bakura scooted closer to his newly found koi*, if that was possible. Neither had noticed, but the ring had started to glow with a warm hue. The yami had locked his hikari in a rough, yet passionate kiss. His tongue probed Ryou's bottom lip, gaining entry. It gently caressed the pallet (a/n: the roof of your mouth ^.^ U) before Bakura moved to his side, placing butterfly kisses along Ryou's face and neck, in return receiving small squeaks from the boy.

 "B…Bak…kura? Wha…what are …you-?" Ryou, not looking scared, but timid, like a new kitten (a/n: ^.^; sorry! Couldn't resist!), wasn't sure what to expect.

 "Hush now. I promise not to do anything you don't want to do, okay?"

 "Promise?" The yami smiled warmly, repositioning himself, while straddling Ryou's hips. His kisses moved further down the squirming, ticklish frame before, Ryou laughing and gasping at the same time before…

 " I told you not to screw him to much." Marik had watched the whole thing from the doorway.

 "What the hell? Marik, you…you f***** hentai!"

"Tch, such language." I gave a dry laugh. "I don't mean to bother you two, especially at a time like this, but we seem to have a problem" He scowled and pointed towards the stairs.

I'd jump all these mountains 

_And take too the skies_

_Sail through the heavens_

_With stars in my eyes_

If my heart had wings 

_I would fly to you_

_And lie beside you as you dream_

_If my heart had wings_

 "Dammit, Bakura! Hurry your ass up!" A deep voice bellowed from the living room/

 "Ano kata wa, donata ka*?" Bakura really didn't need to ask though. By the time he got to the bottom of the stairs, he could see the tri-coloured hair, belonging to the pharaoh, standing impatiently in the doorway. "Yami!"

 "We'll discuss the Ryou-predicament later, but that's not the only reason I came. The shadow realm has gone haywire, and one of your old 'friends' escaped. She's currently wrecking havoc downtown. And you are the only one who can even attempt to stop her!"

 "Who? What's he look like?" Bakura's stomach dissolved. It couldn't possibly be…

 "It's not a 'he'. She has long brown hair, and an average build. You know her?" I backed up into the wall, my knees weakening. It was…

 "Y-yeah, her name's…Shinu. Mae Shinu" (a/n: the Japanese say their first name last ^.-)

 "Oh, Ra! But…her name, it means-"

 "To die before. I know, and indeed she has. At least four different lives now. But with time comes experience, and she's the most lethal person I know. It all started and ended back to my tomb raider days…" Bakura's eyes seemed to glaze over. 

~Flashback~(Bakura's P.O.V.)

 Oh, this is just great. Finally caught in the act, and the guy's got the stupid Sennen Rod! I'm not worried about Shinu; she can take care of herself, but man! The pharaoh's high priest, Set?

 "On your knees, tomb robber. The Sennen Ring will be brought forth shortly. I'm sure the pharaoh will be pleased to know that the infamous Bakura has been caught." Set hit me roughly around my head with the rod. I fell onto my knees, looking to my left. I was right. Shinu was gone already.

 "Here is the Sennen Ring, High Priest Set." A guard quickly held up a solid gold necklace with a tiny pyramid in the center. Wonder how much it was worth?

 "Itai!" One of the axe handles smashed my head, leaving me next to unconsciousness. Thank Ra merciless training kept me awake, though it probably didn't matter. A large red blot rose to cover at least one-third of my silver hair.

 The ring began to glow, and it felt like I was being ripped in two. My soul separating from my body hurt much more then I was prepared to face. I blacked out…

~End Flashback~

_We both committed_

_We both agreed_

_You do what you have to _

_To get what you need_

_Feeling you near me_

_With so many miles in between_

 //Ryou, I have to go away for a while, ok? Keep the link intact. //

 /Huh? Whaa? Where are you going? /

 //To track down an old 'friend'. //

_Oh, Lord it ain't easy_

_Out here in the dark_

_To keep us together so far apart_

_If my heart had wings _

_I would fly to you_

_And lie beside you as you sleep_

_If my heart had wings_

_Stuck on this circle_

_Spinning around_

_Cut loose from this road_

_That keeps tying me down…_

Me: koi=love, Ano kata wa, donata ka=who's that? Humm, there's not a lot of Japanese in this Chappie…

Ryou: no duh…

Me: play nice, Ryou-chan! XP

Ryou: or what?

Me: ah heh heh heh…do you REALLY want me to tell you?

Ryou: O.oU uh, on second thought, no

Bakura: what about the reviews?

Me: oh yeah! I forgot! Here we go! ^.^

phwee? yami hobo: yeah, I didn't mean to speed through it like that, but I will try and slow down. Thanks for the support! ^.^

Draggy: wha? Really? It was that good? Well I'm glad people like this fic!

Yasha: *blush* wow, many good things from people, thank you!

Yugi: That's it for now, folks! See ya next time! 0.^//

Me: (and sorry, people, but I have missed like, four days of school in the past two weeks, cause of the stinking flu, so I'm overloaded with homework! ^.^;; And the next chapter will be at least twice as long as the ones so far, so it will take me a while to type in! again sorry! If anyone wants to have me e-mail him or her the next time this fic is updated, please drop me an e-mail with 'fic update' as the subject. ((my e-mail is missy595@hotmail.com)) thank you)


	5. Author's note

Not an Update! Sorry! -_-U

Me: eh heh, guess wut?

Random voices: what?

Me: I just turned 13, and HAHAHA! Got the fifth Harry Potter book for my birthday! (and Golden Sun: the lost age, but hold on a minute) It came out on my birthday (June 21) so I was pretty sure I wouldn't get it, but Dad, being as confusing as ever, got me: the book, Linkin Park: Reanimation, and a spirited away poster! \\^o^// 

Random voices *in a somewhat less happy tone*: *sniffle* Yeah, so?

Me: : | (god they're pathetic…) and as I mentioned before, mom got me Golden Sun the Lost Age! So the point of this somewhat random author's note is hat I've only written about 2/3 of the fifth Chappie, and hope to finish the rest sometime, but on top of me not WANTING to write more, be totally irresponsible for my fic, me having AT LEAST seven plot outlines for fics I REALLY DESPRETLY want to write, Dad's moving. Please don't hate me! 

Random voices: *throws large, metal object at 'Me'*

Me: X (             OW!

Random voices: XP

Bakura: *walks in* huh? Erin, what did you do this time? Why are random voices throwing things at you  O_o? 

Me: *object bounces off head* owies! Cause I told them my-

Random voices: EXCUSE!!!

Me: -_-U –for not going to update anytime soon…

Clueless random voice: *sharp inhale of breath* really?

Me: (pathetic) hey, I know!

Random voices: what?

Me: ^_^ spoilers anyone?

**_~people who don't like spoilers, leave now, and never return to this author's note~_**

Random voices: YAY!

Bakura: I think I'll stick around for this one…

Me: yes…Mae Shinu is an original character-

Clueless random voice: really? 

Me: -and she defiantly plays a bigger part in the next chapter. Eh heh, she can be somewhat confusing, but I think she reflects me, so don't try to figure her out. It will take too much time, and then I'll probably add some twist, and screw up your careful calculations and surveillance. 

Shinu: *walks out from the mass of random voices* yup! ^. ^ That's me!

Me: great! *profusely shakes Shinu's hand* welcome, my newest muse! 

Shinu: ^-^ hi!

Me: allrighty then…Bakura and Yami find Shinu, tho only for a fleeting second and Bakura dumps the Pharaoh off, claiming he'd only slow him down. After a while of searching dank alleyways, he heads for his favourite thinking spot: the park. And of course, that's where he finds Shinu-

Bakura: THAT'S ENOUGH SPOILERS FOR NOW, PLEASE TURN YOUR COMPUTERS OFF, GET OFF YOUR ASS, AND GO DO SOMETHING SO THERE AREN'T ANY WITNESSES TO ERIN'S DEATH!

Me: Bakura, be nice…

Bakura: *ties thick rope around Erin, and drags her out of the authors note*

Me: reviewers! Save me!

Bakura: do and die! *Whips out switch blade*


	6. In The End

Me: eh heh.I took a bit longer updating then expected.. GOMENNASI MINASAN!!! *bows profusely*  
  
Bakura: you idiot, people may not understand that! *in a lowered voice* not that they ever can, but-  
  
Me: huh? Wuzzat? Oh... It meant 'sorry everybody' to anyone who wants to know! ^ ^;;  
  
Shinu: Yes! I make an official appearance in this chapter! *raises arms to tremendous applause* Me: okay.to clear out this 'Mae Shinu' name problem.Bakura refers to her as Shinu when he's thinking about her-  
  
Bakura: O.o;;  
  
Me: oh, you're so immature! Because he's close to her *in a loud shrill voice* AS A FRIEND!!! *normal voice* and doesn't see the need to be formal in his thoughts. Otherwise, he says Mae, because the Japanese people call each other, formally, by their last name. (yes, Shinu=1st name, Mae=last name, ex. Hiroto=1st name, Honda=last name, and people call him Honda) and that's why her name 'structure' kinda thing is 'Mae Shinu'. Very confusing, I know. But think of it being a library card catalogue thing, ok?  
  
Ryou: aww, I'm hardly in this at all.  
  
Bakura: *fake pouty face* awww, poor hikari!  
  
Ryou: *punches Bakura in the nose*  
  
Bakura: oww! X#{ Bad hikari, bad!  
  
Ryou: *muscle flex* *punches Bakura in the eye*  
  
Bakura: hey!! @_o () *slowly backs away*  
  
Me: *sweatdrop*  
  
Yugi: *appears* on with the fic!  
  
Yami: *close in tow, grumbling* Erin does not own Yu-Gi-Oh characters, or the song 'In The End' (Linken Park). Happy?  
  
Yugi: *glows with happiness* yup! ^ ^ This chapter most likely does not contain vast amounts of shonen-ai, but be warned of later chappies and attempted cheesiness in the first P.O.V.!  
  
Announcer: *big, formal voice* lyrics are in italics!!!  
  
Me: and pleas read them, just for this chapter, okay? I put so much work into finding the right song, and it goes perfectly with this chapter.  
  
Bakura: BRIBE!! BRIBE!!  
  
Me: huh? Okay, and anyone who does read the lyrics, and mentions this in their review (hopefully along with an e-mail, or I'll probably forget ^ ^;;) and I'll send you a really cyuuute piccie of Ryou and Bakura (not one that I had drawn myself though. Damn.)  
  
Mae Shinu's P.O.V.  
  
I sat quietly on the asphalt, watching the burning building before me. I wonder how long it will take for someone to notice. My mind slowly wandered back to my homeland; Egypt. I had watched his being sealed in the Sennen Ring. I wonder.if he's been freed? It probably wouldn't matter anyway. Three thousand years is a long time to remember someone.  
  
(It starts with one) One thing, I don't know why  
It doesn't even matter how hard you tried  
Keep that in mind  
I designed this ride to explain in due time  
  
I hear sirens in the distance and slowly stand up. I take one longing look at the dancing flames and sigh. "Such beauty in my eyes can bring so much pain and suffering to others." I shifted so my eyes were shadowed and whispered the relocation spell under my breath.  
  
Bakura's P.O.V.  
  
"For Ra's sake, Yami! It's just a motorcycle!"  
  
"But, don't we need helmets, or something??"  
  
"Yeah, like it would ever fit onto your hair. Besides, it alone should offer enough protection." The ex-pharaoh huffed indignantly, but let out a desperate whimper and wrapped his arms so damn tightly around my waist I could hardly breathe when I placed my hands on the handles. I shrugged it off as we had a dire situation here. Man, Shinu of all people had escaped, though it didn't surprise me at all. Great escapes were her specialty. Yami squeezed his eyes shut as I revved the engine. "Brace yourself, Yami." We sped put the driveway and down the street, me tracing her life force.  
  
"What the. Why is her energy leading us here?? There's a Ra-damned fire!" True to his word, half of a relatively small warehouse was engulfed in flames. I hushed the engine when I noticed that we were not alone. The slim shadow stood up as sirens started to wail, and appeared to whisper something under its breath. Realization hit me, as the shadow seemed to evaporate right before us.  
  
"Oh, shit! Yami, you get off here! I can handle Mae myself, and you would only get in my way." I completely stopped the engine and balanced it with my leg. The ex-pharaoh scowled, as he was just adjusting to my bike but got off without complaining, standing beside it, awaiting further instructions.  
  
(All I know) time is a valuable thing  
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings  
Watch it count down to the end of the day  
The clock ticks life away (it's so unreal)  
  
Didn't look out below  
Watch the time go right out the window  
Trying to hold on, but you didn't even know  
And I wasted it all just to (watch you go)  
  
"Please tell Ryou I may not be back for a while, to wait in his soul room for me and to keep the link intact at all times." Yami looked lost, obviously not knowing what had happened between my hikari and I.  
  
Seeing the obviously confused pharaoh had almost brought a smirk, but I was pressed for time. "Look, if you want details, ask Ryou. Now I've got to go!" Leaving him to answer tricky questions sure to follow the soon arrival of the police, I started the bike and U-turned out of the alleyway. If I knew Shinu, she would be somewhere quiet, but the possibility of being somewhere easily tracked were slim. Damn.  
  
~An Hour Later~  
  
I sped around Domino City, flushing out all of the alleys and warehouses. I gave an exasperated sigh as I listened to the combination of crunching gravel beneath the wheel and alternative music playing from my radio. Maybe I should just head to the park. I always did like the ponds and trails. It was like walking through a dream for someone coming from the brutal deserts of the heart of Egypt. I turned the wheel and let my hands steer as I lifted my head into the wind to feel the over-rushed breeze through my thick, albino hair.  
  
I kept everything inside of me  
  
And though I tried, it all fell apart  
What it meant to me, will it mention me  
In a memory of a time when I (tried so hard)  
And got so far, but in the end it doesn't even matter  
  
Mae Shinu's P.O.V.  
  
Plunk. Plunk. Plunk plunk plunk. "Heh." So I had finally learned to skip a rock more then once. Usually small things like this would have excited me, but my mind was on other things. Like, when I had relocated, I almost thought I had sensed Bakura nearby. "I've been thinking about him too much. It's not like he would ever remember me, much less care about me after I had left him there with Set." I shifted my weight so I fell off the log, landing beside the hidden lake. I had never seen a lake in Egypt, and to find one surrounded by flourishing trees in the middle of a park was something new to me. I turned onto my side, watching the minuscule white fish dart gracefully underneath the water's surface. I wonder if I'll ever see him again? I drifted into sleep as memory of ancient times silently clouded my restless mind.  
  
One thing, I don't know why  
  
It doesn't even matter how hard you try  
Keep that in mind, I designed this ride to remind myself  
How I tried so hard  
  
~Flashback~  
  
I walk soundlessly down the crowded agora (a/n: aka marketplace, Egyptian style ^ ^), careful to keep my face shadowed. Quickly opening one of my many hidden pockets, I pulled out the note I had received this morning.  
  
Meet in agora at noon  
Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood tomb robber,  
Bakura  
  
"Ra, I can't believe Bakura, of all people, would want to meet me. Of all people." Well. I'm a skilled escape artist, but I have absolutely no experience in tomb robbing, including my most recent past two lives.  
  
In spite of the way you were mocking me  
  
Acting like I was part of your property  
Remembering all the times you've fought with me  
I'm surprised it (got so far)  
  
I looked up from re-reading the piece of papyrus to see a half-hidden albino boy staring at me. I quickened my pace only to notice yet another figure appear. This one had hair just as wild, though somewhat sandy coloured. "Wha?"  
  
"Please follow me, Mae Shinu. Oh. And this is Marik. He will help with your training. In turn, you will teach us how you make such famous escapes." The albino motioned towards the open desert just passed the packed agora. Though if one looked closely enough, they could see part of a cave through the ceaseless sifting of the raw sand. Nice.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
I later learned that he had watched me overcome next to impossible odds, escaping the pharaoh's grasp; something even Marik would have had trouble with. But that was a long time ago. I've changed since then, now more of a tool for destruction then an actual soul-bearing spirit.  
  
Things aren't the way they wee before  
  
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore  
Not that you knew me back then  
But it all comes back to me  
  
(In the end) you kept everything inside  
And though I tried it all fell apart  
  
Rustle. Someone behind me. I whipped around, barely skimming over the grass, pulling out my pocket-sized blade. I was behind him in an instant, grabbing his two arms and pinning them with one hand, holding the knife to his throat with the other. But to my surprise, he was out of my grip as fast as I had put him in it. Spinning on his heel, he had jerked the knife wielding hand above my head, and with that awkward position, I couldn't react. Just as I got another dose of adrenaline pumped through me, some stray pure white strands of his hair fell down around my face as I noted who it was.  
  
"B-Bakura? Is it." he let go of my arm and spun me around with his iron grip.  
  
His ridged face immediately softened and a small was drawn to his face. "Yeah, it's me." Bakura suddenly jerked his head up a bit, signalling that he had remembered something. "Oh! Hey, Yami said something about you wrecking havoc downtown. What happened this-?"  
  
"Yami? Pharaoh.Yami? He's back too?"  
  
Bakura looked slightly disgruntled at being interrupted, but replied with a definite tone in his voice. "Yup, Yami, Marik and. Seto. Set." He released my shoulder as I cringed at the name. He smirked disdainfully.  
  
What it meant to me, will it mention me  
  
In a memory of a time when I (tried so hard)  
And got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter  
I had to fall to loose it all  
But in the end it doesn't even matter  
  
Bakura's P.O.V.  
  
I stood there, bracing myself for her reaction but keeping a firm grip on my hidden switchblade. She was very lethal when in shock or ticked off. I silently thanked the gods when she only nodded curtly and gave a deep sigh.  
  
"I.I.dammit." Shinu wobbled unsteadily before completely collapsing onto me. Totally drained, she could hardly hold onto my arms, and I decided the best thing right now would be to give in to the slowly increasing weight and sink to the ground. Placing her carefully on the soft grass, I took off her concealed purse, most likely containing various weapons, though I didn't stop to check. She closed her eyes peacefully, her breathing evening out.  
  
"Man, you've changed, Shinu. Back in a tomb, you never would never have fallen asleep this easily." I laughed half-heartedly. "But then, I guess I've lost some of my past experience too. Taking that long to find you, not following my intuition at all." Maybe I should go back to my soul room to check on Ryou.  
  
I've put my trust in you  
  
Is that as far as I can go?  
For all this, there's only one thing you should know  
I've put my trust in you  
Pushed as far as I can go  
For all this, there's only one thing you should know  
  
I tried so hard, and got so far  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter  
I had to fall to loose it all  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter  
  
Me: ^ ^ now wasn't that cool? I personally think it was the best chapter yet!  
  
Ryou: r/r everyone!!!! (don't forget the piccie) 


	7. Soul of Malice

Me: yup! ^^ I'm ba-ack! And, I believe that reviewers wanted this fic to be updated, so…yeah.  
  
Shinu: nice intro…   
  
Me: shut up…  
  
Ryou: hey! What's with the other fic? I thought you wanted to finish each story before starting a new one!!   
  
Me: err-  
  
Bakura: yeah, and what's with all the half-written fics you have sitting in your binder? Don't those count towards the 'I will finish one fic I before starting something else'?  
  
Me: well-  
  
Yugi: *chibi-eyes* won't you do a Y/Y?   
  
Me: not right n-  
  
Bakura: *sifts through Erin-chan's fic binder* humm, you do have a half-written Y/Y one-shot here…  
  
Yugi: ^^ yay!  
  
Me: god…just say the disclaimer. Someone. Anyone.  
  
Everyone (excluding Erin-chan): Erin-chan does not own 'Princess Mononoke'. That would be Hayao Miazaki. Nor does she own us!! But she does own-  
  
Shinu: ME!! Oh wait… DAMMIT!!   
  
Yugi: and the storyline. So no suing, okay? *mutters* unless you want a pocketful of fluff.  
  
Me: I heard that!! *tries to strangle Yugi*  
  
Ryou: /hikari to yami/ //yami to hikari//  
  
Bakura: Ryou=Bakura, Bakura=Yami Bakura, Marik=Yami Marik, Malik=Marik  
  
Me: *still trying to strangle Yugi*  
  
Yugi: gag!  
  
Me: *splits into two people, one still after Yugi* erk, I don't think that this chapter will have a song in it. I couldn't think of any that went along good enough with it. I usually base a chapter of a song so I can keep to the storyline fairly well. But I had just started to type and, yeah. So this may not be more confusing…  
  
Warnings: shonen-ai, attempted rape O_o(). Don't like? Don't read.  
  
Ryou's P.O.V.  
  
Damn… It's been over 8 hours since he left. Why hasn't he said anything yet? Maybe I should try to contact him myself…  
  
"Ryou? I don't think 'Kura's coming back tonight. Why don't you just break down and watch a movie?" Marik was sprawled out on the couch, board out of his skull.   
  
"Oh, fine. But I still want to try and contact-" The front door suddenly burst open. There stood a bedraggled looking Yami, apparently flustered. "Yami? What the hell are you doing here? Where's 'Kura? Weren't you supposed to be going with him?" Ryou sprung off the chair he had been sitting on.  
  
"He left me there!"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Ra dammit! I dunno! We followed Mae Shinu's energy to this building on fire. Suddenly, she was gone! Totally! 'Kura," Yami said with a sneer, "had left me there alone saying to get back to you. Yeah, but that took awhile, seeing as the police and fire department had quite a few questions to ask the only suspect, me, at the scene! It takes a while to try and explain to a bunch of mortals that a recarnated spirit had started it and disappeared into thin air, so I had to eventually wipe their memories. By the way, it took about 1 ½ hours to find my way back. I'm used to the streets of Thebes, not Domino!"  
  
"Oh. So you have absolutely no idea where my yami is?" Ryou plopped back down onto the chair, deflated.  
  
  
  
Yami just scowled. "I'm going to have a nice long shower. Anymore questions?" Yami said in a sarcastic tone of voice.  
  
"Yeah, Just one." Marik said. "What's Yugi been up to?" A look of horror was plastered across Yami's face. He apparently had gone of to Bakura's without enabling the link, meaning he had probably worried his hikari to death.  
  
"Ah, y'know? I think the shower can wait. See you all later!!" He shot out the door, heading to the Kame shop.   
  
"O…kay. So, about that movie…"  
  
Ryou looked disbelievingly at the hopeful yami. "Well, if we must, let's watch one of my favourites; Princess Mononoke. You should like it. Tonnes of blood and gore…"  
  
Marik's P.O.V.  
  
"mmm, sounds tasty." Ryou gave me a look like I was some kind of psycho. Well, I guess he'd be right. Naïve child. Wouldn't it be fun to steal his innocence from him? That would blow my cover with 'Kura, though. I still might need him… The news about Mae returning was exactly the kind of thing I had waited for all this years. Not even my own, sadistic hikari had been informed about my secret shared only by Mae. Not even public knowledge to Bakura, the 'head' of our little band of robbers.  
  
Ryou got up and headed to the movie cupboard under their T.V. It was filled from top to bottom with various anime, movies and episodes. If you really looked hard, you could make out a few movies with something suspiciously close to 'hentai'. Must belong to Bakura…Finally, Ryou had thrown half the DVD cases out, looking for the reason he had been in there.   
  
"Ahh, here it is! Princess Mononoke!" Looking harassed by the offending movies, the little hikari stood up and proceeded to insert the disk. A solitary flaxen lock fell over his pale skin. Trying to control myself from pouncing on him right there and then, I closed my eyes momentarily, seeing if I still maintained Mae's mental link.  
  
Shinu's P.O.V.  
  
[[Mae…]]  
  
[M, Marik? Is that you?] I opened one eye, and hastily shut it again. No need for Bakura to know I wasn't asleep.   
  
[[Yeah, look. I have the hikari here. Yami left for the Kame Shop. He won't be back.]]  
  
[Great, the tomb robber's right here beside me. He thinks I'm asleep, and thanks to my great acting, hee hee. I think he, *trusts* me!] I tried my best to keep a straight face. The number one code of a robber was not to trust anyone, ever. He must have lost that to his hikari. Fool. I don't trust anyone, not even Marik. And I doubt I ever will.  
  
[[Hah! Fool. He should know better then that! But, things can't be helped.]] I caught the flash of sarcasm and glee in his voice.   
  
[The plan?]  
  
[[Same. Still remember it? How many lives have you had since then?]]  
  
[Yes, only two. One of acting and another of martial arts. You should try me sometime. It's sure to be a great fight!] Yeah, right. What I didn't tell him was of my other lifetime. One he doesn't really need to know about, and I'm sure that he'll turn on me at some point in time. What a surprise he'll get…I almost can't wait.  
  
Bakura's stirring. Was he asleep? It's only been an hour now. He was thinking about his hikari, I can sense it. Why hasn't he talked to him yet?  
  
"Shinu?" The albino shook me, expecting me to be asleep. Groaning, I tried my best to make it sound like I was asleep the whole time. Twitching my eyebrow and stretching, he was convinced. I thought. "I need to go home to Ryou, my hikari." He stood up to leave. "See you around, Mae." So, using my last name, Bakura? Has your old flame been replaced with a new one? Has your 'Ryou' really affected you that much? Or have you subjected yourself to the fatal flaw, love. This was defiantly more then lust, anyway. How far would you go for your hikari, then? Humm, that's something to think about. This could be useful…  
  
  
  
Normal P.O.V.  
  
The woman disappeared into the forbidding darkness of the night, a solitary piece of charred grass left behind her. She would never be betrayed like that night ever again.   
  
*  
  
"Dammit. That was a good movie, why'd it end on such a happy note?" Marik sulked, pretending to be annoyed at the movie; masking his feelings of annoyance at his partner, Mae. Why was she so late?   
  
Ryou rolled his eyes, wondering how Marik had become so corrupt. He feverously checked his watch. Ten hours… How long was Bakura going to take? Was it possible that something had gone horribly wrong? Biting his bottom lip, the worried tenshi tried the link for the thousandth time. Why didn't he answer? Wasn't it him who had said to keep it intact? Did something disable the link? He fidgeted in his chair, staring into the hallway, waiting for the door to burst open; Bakura to bound in and start rambling why he took so long.   
  
Marik was contemplating in his mind. The yami glanced over at the worried Ryou. Well, whether he would loose Bakura or not, he needed some sort of entertainment for the night. Ryou had said he couldn't reach Bakura through the link, and he was already gone for 10 hours. What's the possibility of him coming back soon? "Slim to none."   
  
Ryou looked at him quizzically, wondering what he had meant. But whatever it was, he wasn't getting good vibes from him. It was almost like there was something inside of him screaming to get away, but was on the other side of a door.   
  
"Come here, Ryou. I want to, ask, you something" Ryou stiffened. This was it. His intentions were defiantly not good.   
  
"N-no. You can ask from there. No one else is here." Why would Marik want him to go over there? Ryou shuttered at the thought.   
  
  
  
"I said get over here!" Marik's eyes flashed dangerously at him. Standing up, he took four long strides towards the wide-eyed hikari. Grabbing him by the front of his t-shirt, Marik forced the squirming child to the ground. Placing one of his hands on his neck to keep Ryou from moving, he continued to try and straddle him.  
  
"M-Marik…what in b-bloody hell are…you doing?" Ryou gasped and squeaked, trying to draw even the tiniest of breaths. Trying to pull his steel iron grip from his neck, Ryou swung his fist aimlessly at his antagonist. To bad he dodged every punch thrown in his direction. "N-no…"  
  
Marik had successfully placed himself overtop Ryou, now ripping off his shirt to reveal Ryou's pale and scarred chest. Tossing the useless article to the side, he moved down to the hem of the tenshi's pants.   
  
He was shacking uncontrollably now. Tears streaming down his face, Ryou tried with no result the mind link again.   
  
/B-Bakura!!!! /  
  
//…// No one. This wasn't the best time to panic, and Ryou tried as hard as he could to ignore Marik, now fiddling with the zipper. Taking a deep breath, Ryou mentally slammed against the wall blocking the link. Nothing. He tried again and again, no luck but not giving up. He could do this. Moving his now numb legs, Ryou slammed the wall again.  
  
Marik looked up from his currant occupation to study Ryou's face. He wasn't struggling as much now. The mind link. That must be it. Marik raised his hand to above Ryou's face. Concentration was one of the main components of a mental link. Bringing his fist down hard, Ryou snapped back to reality, letting out a shout. Blood stained the carpet and his skin.  
  
In a rush of fear and emotion, Ryou ran at the wall one more time. A crack. It burst apart, flooding the link with pain and panic. /BAKURA!! /  
  
*   
  
Bakura cruised down the highway, towards Marik and his hikari. Smiling slightly, he wondered what they would have done for all this time. Marik probably tried to burn the house down or interrogate the liquor cabinet for more booze. Sweat dropping, he almost missed their driveway. Turning up the driveway and turning the engine off, Bakura chucked the helmet into the side bush.   
  
He heard a faint shout. "What?" Maybe they're watching a movie or something…but there seemed to be a pounding in his mind. A mental wall broke inside of him, filling him with fear and pain. The yami turned towards the front door, running at top speed. Okay, so they're not watching a movie…  
  
/BAKURA!! / Ryou?! What the hell?!  
  
He stopped before he ran into the door. Fumbling with the lock for a second, he used the Ring's energy to burst it open. Marik was on top of his hikari on the floor, looking in disgust at him. Ryou was bleeding, his mouth, his face…Noticing the discarded garment on the floor, Bakura attacked the offending yami.   
  
"MARIK!! GET OFFA HIM NOW!!!" Marik looked up for a split second before his face was smashed into the ground. Falling off Ryou, he shot a look of pure anger in Bakura's direction, and received one back. Standing up, he dodged the next punch. He wouldn't be caught off guard again.   
  
Ducking under a kick aimed for his head, Marik took the opportunity to reach for his hand pistol. Aiming it at Bakura's chest. His hand tightened over the trigger, bracing it with his other. Ryou sat up and stared at the pair. His yami frozen to the spot, Marik aiming his gun.   
  
"No!" Jumping up, Ryou rammed into Marik's shoulder just as the trigger was pulled, hitting Bakura's left arm, sending him spiralling. The trigger-happy yami whirled around and shot Ryou's thigh. Screaming, he blacked out from the pain.  
  
Regaining his composure, Marik turned to leave. It would totally ruin the plan if he killed either of them. Stepping out the door, he went in the direction of the 'meeting spot'.   
  
*  
  
"Oww, my arm…" Why didn't it hit my chest though? Marik's aim was that of an assassin. He didn't miss his target. That's when Bakura saw Ryou on the ground, his thigh bleeding now. "Ryou??" Dashing over to his broken hikari, Bakura looked over his wounds. They weren't fatal. That's good. Letting out a sigh of relief, he used the remains of the ring's shadow energy to heal the wound.   
  
Shaking him awake, Ryou's eyed fluttered open to meet Bakura's tear-filled ones. "Ryou…" Squeezing his eyes shut, he pulled his hikari into a crushing hug, shoulders shaking.   
  
"B-Bakura…you came. Marik, he-"  
  
"I know, tenshi. I know."  
  
*  
  
Me: aww, poor Ryou. Marik, you yarou! *hits Marik's head with lead pipe*  
  
Marik: oww! You made me! Stupid author…  
  
Ryou: *sniffle* he shot me!  
  
Bakura: stupid Marik! Don't you know it's not nice to backstab someone then shoot their hikari?  
  
Marik: not my fault!! It's the author's! The author's, I say!  
  
Me: *sweatdrops and slowly backs away from approaching yami*  
  
Yami: where's Yugi?  
  
Yugi: hiding from all you insane people! *turns to readers* pwease r/r.   
  
Me: 'til next time!! ^^ Ja ne! 


	8. Longing

Me: Yay! ^_^ Update time!!   
  
Shinu: *wakes up in pile of holo cards* Noo! Mine! My own! My precious... *shifty eyes*  
  
Me: oh my god...she's insane...no more 'Lord of The Rings' sequels for you! *grabs fore-mentioned DVD case and once again whips out yami's faithful katana*  
  
Shinu: noooo! You can't do that to me!! Not your muse!   
  
'Leanne: *arrives* oh no... Hikari!! Leave Shinu alone right now! *mutters* How'd she get that, anyway? I could have sworn...  
  
Shinu: (*-*)  
  
Me: *bows to readers* thanks to all who reviewed last chappie! Eh heh...it seems that I've fallen behind in thanking people...do that next chappie...I hope...  
  
Disclaimer: *runs in with a giant battle axe, screaming random war cries against all who do not posess Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lord of the Rings, or Gundam Wing* You are all condemmed to write on fanfiction sites forever!! Wha ha ha ha!!  
  
Warning: *jogs over, panting, and promptly wallops Disclaimer over head in a violent matter* gasp, wheeze...shonen-ai, implied yaoi, slightly OOC Bakura, and a very yarou-ish Marik...*passes out*  
  
*  
  
"I'm here, it's alright, tenshi. You're safe. You're safe with me." He cooed softly into his ear. Ryou pressed himself into the worried yami's chest, shaking uncontrollably while his tears freely cascaded down his bruised cheeks. Bakura carried the broken light towards his room.  
  
Dressing Ryou in some flannel pajamas, he carefully set him onto the bed. Bakura moved his arm slightly, allowing him to sit beside Ryou. Taking a breath, Bakura worried about the reaction of the question he was about to ask.  
  
"Ryou..." The hikari looked up wearily. "What happened, exactly?" Turning away with sorrowful eyes, Ryou tried to hold back more tears at the horrible memory. "Please tell me."   
  
"What... what do ...you think....h..happened?"  
  
"Well, what exactly happened? What did Marik do to get you to this state?" Bakura lay down with his hikari, pulling him into his chest; stroking his hair. "Please tell me."   
  
Ryou collected himself and decided to get it over with. "He...he asked me to go over to him after the movie was done. I-I didn't want to, so he came over himself and grabbed my shirt..." Ryou searched for Bakura's waiting hand. "He had pushed me...to the ground and...and...ripped my shirt off. Oh, yami, I was so scared!" Ryou burst into tears again, trying to fend off the flashback.  
  
Bakura closed his eyes and when he reopened them, you could almost see his anger reflected in his pupils as a wavering flame. He firmly wrapped his arms around the shaking hikari. Marik was going to pay. Dearly. No one put his light into a state like this a got away in less than six pieces.   
  
After a few minutes, Ryou seemed to calm down a bit more. "It's over and you're here. That's all that matters to me now. But, why Bakura? Why did Marik do that?"   
  
"I...I wish I knew the answer to that, Ryou. I really do." Holding his hikari in his trembling arms, Bakura started to cry.   
  
*3 days later*  
  
Bakura had just woken up; his hikari was quietly snoring beside him. Ever since that unfortunate day, Ryou had always wanted his yami beside him while he slept. That's why Bakura didn't want to get out of bed right now, just in case Ryou woke and found him not there. This had happened the first morning, and Bakura had to rush upstairs to stop Ryou from freaking. He didn't want to upset his tenshi, so he lay in bed until Ryou woke, playing with his tenshi's hair.  
  
When Ryou woke up, he saw Bakura lying in bed beside him, eyes closed, and appearing asleep. The yami opened his eyes and, seeing that his koi was awake, pulled him into his chest and buried his face in his light's hair, taking in the scent. He stroked the albino's silky hair; Ryou purring at the touch. Bakura slowly started to undo his tenshi's shirt.  
  
"You don't mind do you?" the yami asked.  
  
"If you don't take it too far." Ryou looked up at him with awaiting eyes.  
  
"I'm only going to take your shirt off." With that, Bakura fully removed Ryou's pajama top, and flipped the tenshi over so they were both face-up; him underneath Ryou. He moved the flaxen locks of hair away from the hikari's neck and started to tenderly kiss the pale skin. Ryou cooed with each kiss, with Bakura moving down his neck, then to his back, coming back around his frail waist and placing kisses up Ryou's heaving chest. When their heads were level again, the dark looked lovingly upon his hikari with trusting eyes and placed his lips firmly on the boy's, pleading for entrance. Ryou let him in, and Bakura caressed the roof of his lover's mouth with his searching tongue, tasting the unique flavor belonging to the tenshi.   
  
Placing one arm firmly around Ryou's waist, he started to trace small circles on his light's smooth back. They parted, needing to breathe; Ryou now purring from the back of his throat at the dark's gentle caress.  
  
"I love you, hikari. I always will. No one could ever do anything to make me feel any different about you," the yami said, fighting back tears. "You remember that, okay?"  
  
"I love you too, 'Kura." They lay there for awhile, Ryou thinking back to that day when Bakura had first come home for him. Looking over at the calander clock told the hikari that it was about 7:30, Monday. "'Kura?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"I'm hungry..."   
  
Sweatdropping slightly at the comment, Bakura started to sit up, but Ryou dragged him back down onto their bed, landing on his back. Bakura rolled his eyes. "What would you like?" He wondered aloud.  
  
"You." Ryou gave his koibito puppy-dog eyes and cuddled up to him again.  
  
"Sorry, that's not on the menu, hun. But maybe later." At that remark, the dark one stood up with his hikari clinging to him. "Ryou."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Get offa me." Ugh, more puppy-dog eyes.  
  
"Mo," Ryou whined. "Me wanna stay wit my 'Kura."  
  
Giving off a humungous sweatdrop, Bakura replied, "You sound like a chibi, Ryou. Why are you acting like Yugi?" He suddenly pulled a strange face and wiped his mouth off with his free arm. "Eew, you wouldn't actually be the little twerp?"  
  
"No, you bakayarou."  
  
"Whaddyacallin'me!?!?!"  
  
"A bakayarou. You know. An idiotic, stupid bastard," Ryou replied with a sadistically crooked eyebrow and an amused smile. "And you sound like Jonouchi."  
  
"Fine," Bakura pouted. "I'm convinced. But you're asking for it after school, Ryou." Giggling, the tenshi looked up at his sighing other half with a hyper look in his eyes.  
  
*11pm*  
  
The two albinos sat together on the couch as 'Gundam: Endless Waltz' ended. Bakura looked over at his lover and noticed a sad but confused look on his face.  
  
  
  
"What's wrong, Ryou?" he inquired.  
  
"I dunno..." was the reply. "I am a bit tired, though."  
  
"Okay, I'll put the movie away. You go get changed."  
  
Ryou trudged upstairs, Bakura close behind him. They got changed and Ryou cuddled up to his other for a deserved night's rest.  
  
  
  
"Did you actually put the movie away?"  
  
  
  
"No."  
  
*Dream Sequence, Ryou's P.O.V.*  
  
I could feel something next to my nude body. I couldn't see. Only feel, hear, smell, and touch. I felt different, though. It was something that I had felt faintly before, but it wasn't as powerful as it was now. I reached up, and moved my hand along the surface of the object, which was warm lying next to me. It had curves, and many other features. It was human. It's last feature was strangly familiar. Long, fluffy hair.   
  
The person stirred. "Tenshi." It was definatly a he. A he with a rough, husky voice...I've heard it before. "Shiroi tenshi.(a/n: white angel)" Shiroi tenshi...what did it mean? It seemed that I had totally fallen into my first language, English, and couldn't understand what he was trying to say at all.  
  
He ran his comforting hand through my hair. "Do ka, shimashite ka (what's the matter?)...Ryou?" Ryou...that's my name, isn't it? Who is this? Whoever he was, I felt totally safe around him, whether I could understand him or not.   
  
A sharp intake of breath; he was ontop of me. But...I'm not scared. Brushing his lips against mine; it felt so right. Who is this? Soft hair fell around the frame of my face. I tilted my head up, catching the sweet kiss with my anticipating lips. Feeling my chest against his...I know him. It's so familliar...this feeling. Why can't I remember?   
  
"Koibito (lover), onegai shimasu (please). Ogenki desu ka (What's wrong?). Onegai. Watakushi wa ni hanashita (speak to me)." He stroked my cheek with loving fingers. What was he saying?  
  
"I...I can't understand you...who are you?"  
  
"Watashi iie, wakarimasen (I don't understand you)." Rubbing his nose against mine, I tried to comprehend what he was trying to say. Why couldn't I? What language was he speaking? He slipped off of me, clutching to my side. Could he see me?   
  
//Nihongo...// What? I did I have a mental link with this person? He replied to my question. I don't know what he said, but I knew he was trying to help me remember, somehow. Nihongo...is...is... Japanese, right? Yeah, that's it. He was Japanese...and I was too, wasn't I?  
  
He cupped his hand to my chin, pulling me into another kiss. His name...it was...  
  
"Ba-"  
  
*End Dream.*  
  
"-Kura?" The startled tenshi awoke with a start. What had that dream meant? Did it mean anything at all? Or everything? Could that have been some sort of test? Ryou turned over, and saw him. Bakura was stirring slightly, and turned over so he wasn't facing him anymore. The angel stared at him, the whole time a feeling ever so slight was growing in himself. It was the same feeling he felt in the dream. Ai (love); lust for Bakura's body. As it took the light over, he reached around his dark and tried to slip off his top. In this process he awoke, drowsy at first but as he realized what his light was doing, he became more conscious.  
  
"What are you doing Ryou?" His startled yami hissed.   
  
"What does it look like?" Ryou replied slyly as he cuddled up to Bakura's bare chest. "I just want..you."  
  
He blinked, comprehending what Ryou had said. "Are you sure you want to do this..... you can't be ready..."   
  
"I...I am. Marik almost took it from me, but..I want to give myself, to you." He cautiously replied. At this, he slid out of his own shirt, and pressed himself up to Bakura.  
  
"...Ryou...are you sure?"   
  
He nodded. It took a lot of courage to ask, but Ryou was sure. "I'm-I'm fine. I'm not weak anymore, Bakura."   
  
Bakura shook his head. "You never were. I was. To weak to face my past...but...if you feel uncomfortable at all, please tell me." The tenshi nodded again. He wouldn't ask for something he hadn't thought through. "Ryou?"   
  
"I'm fine." Ryou slid his pale arm around the base of his dark's waist. "I love you."  
  
~longing for love~  
  
*  
  
"You screwed the kid?!?!"  
  
"Shut up, Mae! Bakura busted the door before I could do anything like that!" He turned around, folding his arms over each other. "The plan's not completly severed, anyway. You can take my place."   
  
*  
  
Me: well, that was longer then I expected, anyway. At least I finally updated...  
  
'Leanne: took you long enough though   
  
Bakura: ^^ yay! My light likes me again!!   
  
Ryou: there was a point of the story when I didn't like you?   
  
Me: ...you were in the beginning, weren't you?  
  
Ryou: no...THAT was my carbon copy. Why? What happened?  
  
Me: ^^;; right...well, I think I'll just redo the beginning then. And Baku-chan's flashback. A bit too violent, don't ya think?   
  
'Leanne: well, hurry up! You also have to send piccies to reviewers too! 'Member?  
  
Me: oh yeah! Okay, we can do one of many things...I:  
  
a)Can go re-write chapter one and three  
  
b)Stick my head in the freezer  
  
c)Forget about this story and delete it  
  
d)Write chapter three of Kept In The Dark  
  
e)Throw evil Window's Media Player at random shonen-ai-haters  
  
f)Chuck my notebook and computer out the window  
  
g)Roast marshmallows with reminants of burned homework/science project  
  
h)Start another story  
  
i)Strangle my brother 


	9. Answers

Me: well, after much deliberation, I have finally re-done the first three chappies! *grins triumphantly* If you had read the first chapter one two and three (with Baku-chan beating up his hikari...*shifty eyes*) I strongly recommend that you go back and re-read them. They are done much better and adds to the plotline! ^^ Victory is mine!! Muah! Muah!  
  
Everyone: *backs away slowly*   
  
Me: *eyes them evily* Do you think I'm strange?  
  
'Leanne: Nonsense. You'll have to excuse us, however, as we back away to what we deem to be a safe distance.  
  
Me: *eyes start to water* Sniffle...I feel so unwanted...  
  
Disclaimer: you can only sue Erin-chan for using Yu-Gi-Oh! characters without proper authorization from Kazuki Takahashi. You may not, however, sue her for her original characters (Shinu, Kyokae, 'Leanne ('Leanne: hey!! I ain't no OC! I' m her yami!) ) *rolls eyes* ...or for the plotline.   
  
Warning: Yeah. Right. Whatever you say, Disclaimer...  
  
Disclaimer: you challenging me? Huh? Huh??  
  
Warning: *promptly knocks Disclaimer out with frying pan* Well, fear the horrid shonen-ai, reference to yaoi (which I would write, however, I'm restricted to writing PG-13 until I get some experience in that matter) and again, a very yarou-ish Marik. Okay? Okay.  
  
Me: Oh, and I'm included in this chappie, too! ^^ Yay! I'm in Ryou-chan's art class!  
  
Ryou: *shudders*  
  
*  
  
Marik turned back to face his counterpart. "The only thing we might have a problem with is getting them where they need to be." He took out an ancient-looking map.   
  
Mae sweatdropped slightly. "How long have you had that, Marik? For three thousand years, or something?" She shook the question off. "Yeah. How are we gunna get them to the next continent without them suspecting something? Especially if it's our homeland? After that?"   
  
The dark lowered his head. "Don't worry 'bout that. As far as I know, Malik is still a friend. He can invite them or something." She raised her eyebrow. "He will. I can make him. You know what you have to do in my place, right?"   
  
Shinu shuddered at the sudden frigid breeze. Why did Marik pick this place? "Yes, and no." She turned her head towards the groung beside her. "But you do realize what, or should I say, /who/ I'll have to deal with in order to fufil the requirements."  
  
He straightened his back. "Yes, but I would like to start with what you're sure of first. Then we can address your trifle fear of the high priest and what you don't know. What do you know?"  
  
"I do know that I'll have to lure Bakura into the pyramid with his stupid hikari as bait." She pointed to the map. "You'll have to take care of that. But-" She stopped. "I don't want /anything/ drastic done with, or to him, understand?" Marik rolled his eyes. "Got it, Marik? I don't want to have to deal with a Bakura like that. If you're not careful, it could ruin everything." Shinu backed up. "Then I'll have to keep constant surveillance on them, making sure they get were they need to end up. That would be the king's chamber, correct?"  
  
Marik nodded again. "Yes. The king's chamber in the center. You make sure you don't end up there instead, all right? The result would /not/ be pretty." The darkness of the shadow realm began to envelop them. "Remember, the pyramid's right in between Kuru-Eruna and Deir El-Medina*. That's where I will place Ryou." He had just noticed that the realm was sending him back. "Well, I guess we'll have to talk about the rest some other time. And I /will/ see you here again, correct?"   
  
She nodded subtly. As Mae disappeared into the reality world, she got a last wave of Marik's energy. It was lined with hatred and, what slightly surprised her, deceit. She grinned. "Ah, maybe this'll be more interesting then I originally planned on if he's not telling me something. The last flash of the dank place wavered in her mind.  
  
Bakura would pay for what happened almost three thousand years ago. Whether it cost everything or nothing to her.   
  
*  
  
Yami no Yuugi lay on their bed thinking about the past day. Finding Mae had been one thing, finally realizing who she was after he got home to his hikari was another. The infamous Mae. Why hadn't it struck him earlier? She had been rumored to have been a never-ending spirit. Instead of entering the realm of Osiris the first time, she had been granted, or granted herself, Yami wasn't sure, permanent immortality. Maybe as a punishment? He didn't know. Well-  
  
"Yami! It's four in the morning. Why aren't you asleep /yet/?" Yuugi lay on his side, staring at the former pharaoh and present yami with blurry eyes. "Is something bothering you, or something? Tell me."   
  
What was the real problem, anyway? Yami shook his head. Yuugi was pure in heart; he didn't need to carry the burden of what might come to be soon. "No, nothing's wrong, Yuugi. I'm just a bit restless, that's all." He nuzzled his lips into the hikari's soft hair. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."   
  
The hikari didn't buy it. "I dunno, Yami. You came home really late yesterday and didn't keep the link. Then before that you rushed off to Ryou-kun's house without telling me why without even coming home from downtown this afternoon. I really think you're trying to keep something from me." He stared into his crimson eyes. "I'm not as naive as you apparently think I am."   
  
"I-it's nothing, Yuugi. Really. Try and get some sleep now, alright?" He wouldn't tell him. There was nothing he could do, anyway.  
  
Yuugi sighed in defeat. He's keeping something from him. Why wouldn't Yami tell him anything? Did he think that Yuugi was too innocent and naive about the world, or something? He was not a little boy anymore, and it seemed that Yami no Yuugi hadn't noticed yet. "Do you not trust me with things that you're not sure that I could handle? There's something that's happening now that you don't want me to know about."   
  
Yami backed up. "Yes, Yuugi. Something is happening. I don't feel it involves you and wish to leave it at that. It's not that I don't think you can handle it, I just think you should look at your exams coming up in school." Yuugi sighed again.  
  
/It's the same thing, Yami.../  
  
//...// Yami got up and muttered something about wanting to go for a walk. Yuugi watched him exit their room, flopping onto his bed. Exams were not an excuse. His yami knew perfectly well that he was doing fine in high school. Rolling onto his side, the small boy closed his eyes for the second time that night.  
  
/I wish you would tell me.../  
  
*  
  
It was about four in the morning when Ryou fell asleep. After that, he was thoroughly exhausted, but happy. His yami had kept him after firmly in his arms, sometimes kissing his pale skin.   
  
"Ai-shiteru." Bakura then closed his eyes and buried his mind into the depths of his soul room, dreaming of beautiful valleys of lost kings and deep forests infused with mystical beings. His mind was at rest, and the days of suffering long past were finally out of his mind now. It didn't matter that Mae was back as long as Ryou wasn't hurt. Marik had deceived him, and Bakura hated him for it. But Ryou was still here, so it was all okay.  
  
As his consciousness was taken from him, the embrace he held Ryou in slackened, even just by a bit.   
  
*One week later*  
  
"Ugh, I hate exams..." The light-haired boy rubbed his temples with slender fingers.   
  
"Yeah, tell me about it... my sensei, Moyer-san wouldn't let us leave the room or anything until /everyone/ was done. And you know how slow that strange girl at the back is... Isn't her name Erin, or something?" Yuugi chuckled.  
  
The albino laughed lightly. "Yeah, she's in my art class. For some reason she can't stop drawing manga..." He shook his head; still rubbing his temples. "She keeps looking at me strangely for some reason, though. Gives me the creeps, really. Almost all of her drawings include this odd harpy with black-tipped hair...don't ask..."   
  
  
  
"Yeah, that's her alright." The pair walked down the hall, heading towards the front exit for lunch outside, talking and laughing about the manga-crazed girl.   
  
*  
  
  
  
Ryou jumped at the sudden ringing of the last bell. Blinking twice, he noticed that Yuugi had already finished and was waiting at the edge of his desk. Looking over his shoulder, Ryou saw the strange girl still looking confused at the first question, before she looked up and started to stare at him again.   
  
"Eep!" Ryou spun back around fairly quickly. Shuddering, he stood up and handed the paper into Farrar-san and, taking one last glance at the brown-haired classmate, he hurried out the door with Yuugi.   
  
"She's scary..." Yuugi just rolled his eyes and tried to keep close to his friend's fast pace. Pushing open the front door, Ryou asked the other boy if he would like to come over.  
  
"Uh, sure, Ryou-kun. I don't think Yami will mind much, I guess." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's not like he'd tell me anything more. Maybe you and Bakura can answer some of my questions..."   
  
Ryou looked at Yuugi in question. "About what? Why wouldn't Yami tell you?"  
  
"I dunno...that's one of my questions... Let's just wait until we get there, though. I think some can only be answered by your yami."  
  
"Oh, alright. Here, let's take the shortcut through the park, then. It goes right past this pretty little lake with white fish in the middle of a cluster of trees." Ryou smiled reassuringly at Yuugi. But what could he possibly want to know? Oh well. There were a few things Ryou wanted answered, too, anyway. "Are you sure I couldn't handle any on my own, though?"  
  
"Well, I guess there are. Like, you never used to let me walk home with you. Was there any other reason then your yami?"  
  
Ryou stopped for a moment before sprinting back to his friend. Yes, there most certainly was. But he wasn't sure what would happen if he told anyone about the gang of boys. They would find out one way or another, and Ryou didn't want to involve anyone else in it, especially his best friend. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he sighed.  
  
Ryou looked up at the overcast sky. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen them for about a week now. Yuugi got the hint and reverted his gaze to the ground once more.   
  
They were soon approaching the miniature lake and neither had said a word. Maybe Ryou would tell him when they got to the log by the pond side.  
  
A threatening shadow passed behind them, keeping their footsteps silent.  
  
"Well, lookie here, Ushio. Our prey came to us. We didn't even have to catch the bitch this time." Ryou and Yuugi froze on the spot. Slowing turning around, they saw two huge men hovering over them.   
  
"Oh, and he brought a friend. How nice of him."   
  
The last shadow emerged from behind the two giants. "Who's the twerp, fag? Your boyfriend?" Ryou twitched. He could take it himself, but Yuugi had no part of this.   
  
"Shut up! Leave Yuugi alone!" The albino turned to his companion. "Yuugi, run home! I won't be able to hold them off." The boy looked shocked.  
  
"What?! Ryou, you can't handle these apes! They'd kill you!"  
  
The leader spoke again. "You bitches wanna leave the party so soon? Why don't you stay." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. The two boys were paralyzed with fright, and didn't move until his swinging fists were mere inches from Ryou's face. Yuugi jumped aside, being right beside him, and Ryou flinched and ducked at the last second.  
  
Missing his target, he fell face-first into the dusty ground. "Damn you, bitch! Come here!" His henchmen ran to his side and helped him up. Ryou and Yuugi had taken off towards the closest house they knew around here: Honda's. "What are you doing?! Catch them!"   
  
*  
  
Ryou was out of breath by the time they reached his place. "Yuugi, can you press the doorbell for me?" He was still leaning on his knees for support.   
  
He did so and hardly had to wait at all for a response. "Yuugi! Ryou! What are you doing here? What's with those apes running over here behind you?" Honda looked curiously over his friend's shoulder.   
  
Ryou shot up. "What? We didn't loose them yet?" A quick turn around told him that in fact, they were pretty close.   
  
"Get inside for now. I can handle these freaks." Honda stepped in front of the two and greeted the group of hulks, leaning on the doorframe.  
  
The leader stepped up. "Honda. What a pleasure. You're Jonouchi's brat, aren't you?" Honda glared, but did nothing. "Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but you seem to have our two, friends, in there. Step aside, and we'll leave you alone."  
  
He blinked twice before Honda cracked a smile. It morphed into a grin and then soft laughter. "I don't think so, idiot. Now why don't you go screw yourselves over before I decide to get a bit messy."  
  
The goon to the right stepped up. "How dare you talk like that to Akuma" He swung his titan fist at Honda's calm face. He merely ducked out of the way and used his attacker's awkward position to flip him over and sprain his arm. Stepping on his back, Honda looked up.   
  
"Which one of you's next?"   
  
"You, you bastard!" The leader motioned to the remaining hulk and they took off.   
  
  
  
He shook his head and kicked the guy in his ribs before he took off too. "Cowards. Hey, Ryou! Why were they after you, anyway?" Honda headed inside.   
  
Ryou and Yuugi were sitting on the couch, surrounded by piles of empty beer cases. "Dunno. We came across them on our way home." the albino mumbled.   
  
"They seemed to know you. Have you seen them around before?" The albino's face was flushed, though only Yuugi noticed.   
  
"I-I, yes. They usually come around a couple times a week...."  
  
The two other boys stared at him in shock. "What?! Why haven't you said anything?! We could have stomped them a long time ago for you! And what about Bakura?! Didn't he have anything to say about it?"  
  
Ryou sat up straight. "Don't talk about Bakura like that! He didn't know either, okay?!" He turned to leave. "I'm going home."   
  
Yuugi jumped up to follow him, apologizing to the bewildered Honda and bowed quickly before running out after Ryou.  
  
"Ryou! Ryou, wait up!" The light-haired boy stopped and turned around.   
  
"Gomen, Yuugi. I don't know why I exploded back there." He tilted his head and smiled. "Tell Honda I'm sorry if you see him before I do, alright?"   
  
"Hai, I will. Now let's get to your place before anything else happens." He laughed lightly.   
  
*  
  
Me: right...but before I forget, Deir El-Medina was where all the pyramid-builders mainly lived. It died out about five hundred years before Bakura and Marik's time, but I'm gunna use my artistic license to bend this a bit, alright? *sweatdrop* It was a real city.  
  
Bakura: ...right...  
  
Ryou: what was the point of shoving yourself in there?? You scared me! Why did you keep staring at me, anyway?  
  
Me: I did? Really? I like to call it 'innocent fascination with albino's pretty hair'.   
  
Ryou: now you just sound like 'Yura of the Hair' (Inu Yasha)...scary...  
  
Me: eh heh... erm... you know nothing... R/R, mina! 


	10. Under Secrets Lie Truths

Me: Hello again...   
  
'Leanne: *looks up from reading some manga* whoa...time for me to leave...  
  
Me: huh?  
  
Shinu: uh, why are you dressed up like a Roman senator by any chance?  
  
Me: *sweatdrops* umm...umm... I felt the need to be all-powerful for some strange reason?  
  
'Leanne: strange alright...  
  
Me: ^^;; shut up, yami! Don't be mean to me... *sniff* I feel so unloved... *cries*  
  
Shinu: *sweatdrops* what's her problem?   
  
'Leanne: I think that she's sad because she lost her floppy disk and all her stories for almost a week, and was in complete withdrawal... *sweatdrops again* so she decided to turn the time table of fashion back a few millennia? I dunno. Don't ask me.  
  
Me: *sniff*  
  
Shinu: ah.  
  
'Leanne: yeah... ^^;;  
  
Disclaimer: All right! Now everyone who writes on these fan fiction sites must all bow to me and admit your inferiority to me! Muah ha ha ha! *points finger at random confused authors*  
  
Warning: you know, it may just be me, but that guy is really getting on my nerves...*eyebrow twitches* maybe some angst, shonen-ai, reference to yaoi, blah blah blah... *goes off to destroy the disclaimer*  
  
*  
  
Ryou and Yuugi arrived home half an hour later, talking about tiny subjects, nothing really. Jumping two steps at a time, Yuugi stood behind his friend as he pounded the door with enough force to break down a prison wall. "Dammit, Bakura! Get your ass off the couch and let us in! I don't have the key with me today!" The shorter one sweatdropped at the barely-audible grunt and sudden crash and loud string of curses, Japanese and Egyptian alike.   
  
"Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming..." The yami opened the door, exposing his frizzy hair to the world. "Yuugi?" He stated as Bakura took notice of the boy.   
  
"Ryou invited me."  
  
"Oh, okay." Bakura stepped back to let them enter the house and closed the door. A mischievous grin spread across his face when he saw Ryou turned around to face Yuugi.   
  
Bakura flung himself into the two boys, knocking them down, Yuugi on the bottom. "AH! What the hell?!" Ryou steadied himself on his elbows and attempted to roll out of the human sandwich. "What was that for, Bakura?!"  
  
He chuckled and sat up, still straddling his hikari and squishing Yuugi. "That's for forgetting your keys!" Bakura crossed his arms triumphantly.   
  
"Uh..." Yuugi was facedown, and very embarrassed to be in such an implying position. "You couldn't move, could you?"   
  
"Huh? Oh, okay. You can go, but I'm keeping Ryou like this." Ryou flushed twenty shades of red and Bakura chuckled again and stood up, pulling both boys by the hand with him. "Now what good deed have I done to be rewarded with the presence of the Pharaoh's twerp?"  
  
"Baka." Ryou was still a pleasant hue of scarlet. "We have a few questions that we want answered and Yami won't."   
  
*  
  
Ryou and Bakura were cuddled up together on the couch with Yuugi sitting in a recliner opposite them. "So, what did you want to know?"   
  
Yuugi asked first. "What's happening that involves you and my yami?" Bakura looked at him. "Eww, not like that, you hentai. I mean whatever happened five days ago when Yami rushed over here after being downtown?"   
  
"Oh, that. Okay. He found an old acquaintance of Marik's and mine. Nothing earth-shattering."   
  
Yuugi sighed. "That's not the whole story, or Yami wouldn't go out of his way to keep it from me. What's really happening?"   
  
"Well, if you put it that way, I'm not sure."  
  
"Something that involves Marik, I'm sure." Ryou scowled at the name like it seared his tongue at the harsh syllables. Bakura hugged his hikari to him just a bit closer.   
  
"Why?" Yuugi cocked his head.   
  
  
  
"You don't want to know," replied Bakura. "Anyway, we found Mae Shinu, that's her name, near a burning building and she disappeared. I mean, evaporated. I found her at the park at the lake and we talked. She's just surprised at how everyone's back, but I don't think it will amount to anything rash."   
  
"Oh, okay." Yuugi looked downtrodden. Maybe his yami was just overreacting like when he met Bakura for the first time again. But still, then that meant that he didn't even trust him with something like this. "Well, do you know why my yami would want to keep such a trivial thing from me?"  
  
Bakura had to think about this one. "Well, he looked pretty messed up when he got here, I think he's just overreacting." Isn't that what he thought? "But then again, maybe he just doesn't want you to get hurt in something he's not sure about. If he doesn't know the amount of danger, Yami can be very cautious. And I mean /very/ cautious. I wouldn't worry about it."   
  
Then Ryou took the opportunity to ask one of his questions after he was sure there was no response from Yuugi. "Why doesn't the link automatically stay intact?"   
  
Bakura slouched his shoulders. "Well, it takes mind control to do so, and if you forget about it, it won't work. That's why I wanted you to keep it up in case I got in trouble. Unfortunately, I thought with Marik there, I wouldn't have to worry so much about you. Guess I was wrong." He scowled.   
  
"Huh? What happened?" Yuugi was very confused. Wasn't Marik reformed?  
  
Ryou averted his gaze to the carpet. "He, he tried to..rape me." Yuugi's eyes shot open three times their regular size, mimicking small balloons. Bakura had to really try to suppress a huge grin at the strange site.  
  
"He tried to what?! Oh, Ryou! I'm so sorry!"   
  
"Don't be. Bakura came in time." Yuugi looked relived. Now that added one more person to look out for. Ryou nuzzled himself further into his yami's side.   
  
It was Yuugi's turn to change his line of vision to the floor. If Yami opened up once in a while and trusted him, they could be just like them... Huh? Wait, wasn't Bakura a bad guy?   
  
"Um, Bakura? Weren't you kinda, anti-social?" Yuugi didn't want to probe into his suspicion of Bakura actually physically hurting Ryou.  
  
"Well, I think we worked out our differences." He smiled. "D'you want to sleep over, Yuugi? It's getting a bit late." He looked out the window to the rapidly changing sky.   
  
"Oh, okay. I'll just have to use the phone to tell Jii-san (a/n: his grandfather) I'm over here." Yuugi stood up and shuffled over to the cordless phone that had recently been thrown in exasperation onto the floor beside the coffee table. Not that either of them drank coffee, mind you.   
  
*  
  
Marik stood, leaning against the doorframe, staring at his other half lounging on his couch. "For the last time, Marik. I won't help you to hurt either Bakura or Ryou. I personally am happy to hear that they're together."  
  
"Malik, this plan was long in effect before any of us were ever even thinking about the realm of Osirus or ever thought any of us would be reincarnated. He betrayed us and so I decided to make it a one-one thing. Not a one-up." He smirked seductively and drew closer to his other, swaying his hips. He would do whatever he must to put his plan into motion. "Come now. Won't you do this? For me?"   
  
Malik gulped down a rather large lump that had been accumulating in his throat and felt his face grow hot. He thought he would be getting rid of his darker half by moving back to Egypt. Guess he was wrong. "M-Marik, please. Don't do this." He scrunched his eyes shut and silently wished for him to be out of there.   
  
"Oh, now. Malik. Are you not used to me being so close to you anymore?" Marik pinned Malik's arms to the couch and drew a leg in between his other's.   
  
Malik blushed and felt another lump stop him from shouting out before his mouth was covered by Marik's rough lips.   
  
/P, please..leave me alone.../ Malik felt himself slip onto his back at the rush of heat.  
  
//Now why would I do that? You're such a pretty thing.. Surprisingly uke, Malik. Who knew?// He dragged Malik's arms above his head on a painful angle.  
  
Malik gasped into their kiss when he felt Marik press against him. /M..arik, please. Just, I'll do whatever you want, just please, leave me alone.../   
  
He grinned. Mission accomplished. Pulling away, Marik stroked Malik's cheek before resuming his position at the door. "I'll hold that to you, Malik. And won't I have fun if you decide to face the consequences instead." He smirked at the flushed and abused boy heaving on the couch. He could almost say that would have been more fun then Ryou.   
  
~Next Day~  
  
Yuugi woke up first, wondering why he was lying in a sleeping bag on the Bakura's living room floor with them beside him. "Oh, right." Sitting up, he dragged his arms across his chest and stretched, yawing at the same time.  
  
The younger albino cracked their eyes open slightly. "M'ornin', Yuug.." Ryou's voice cracked. "Go'od sleep?" He closed his eyes again and drew against his yami before sitting up as well.   
  
"Yeah, I think I just needed to get away from my frustration source for a bit." He grinned. "I don't know if I'm gunna tell Yami that I know."  
  
Neither had noticed, but Bakura had also risen and had his arms around his hikari's waist. "Well, maybe if he knows that you /already/ know, he'll be open to telling you more. Just a theory, though.   
  
"BRRNG!!!! BRRNG!!!! BRR-" Ryou had quickly rushed to silence the noisy contraption (a/n: did I say Bakura was the one exasperated at the phone?) and scanned over the buttons looking for the 'answer' one.   
  
"Moshi moshi, Bakura residence...speaking...yeah? Oh, okay...sure.. Yeah, I guess we'll catch the next flight...wait for the mail?... a day?... Oh, okay, then...yeah, see you..ciao to you too..." Bakura raised his eyebrow.  
  
"Ciao?"   
  
Ryou rolled his eyes. "That was Malik. He wants us to fly to Egypt once the tickets he sent through express gets here." Yuugi's mouth dropped.  
  
"So that's it? Someone wants you to fly across the planet and you decide to leave a day before? No plans with school? No.." He smiled devilishly. "Chaperones?"  
  
Ryou blushed. "Well, no..my father just left studying there for Eastern Africa. Unless of course, you wanted to come with us. We can just ask the teachers to write a journal or something, instead of the missed assignments." Bakura pulled a fake and extremely disturbing pout.  
  
"Aww, I was gunna have fun..." Both lights sweatdropped.   
  
Ryou blushed even darker and pretended to pinch his yami. "Well, Yuugi? What about it?"   
  
"Umm, well, I'd have to ask Jii-san of course, but I'm not sure if Yami would let me..."  
  
Bakura spoke up. "Oh, screw him. Don't let him ruin your fun. C'mon. Come along so Ryou doesn't have to come up with excuses why he didn't have time to write his 'journal' thing." His smile reached from ear to ear, but was quickly put out when Ryou's face might have resembled a well-ripened tomato and pinched Bakura for real this time. "Ow! Hey!"  
  
"Urusai, Bakura." A mushroom-breath came out of Ryou's mouth as he sighed. "Well, would you consider it? I'm sure we'd have tonnes of fun!" He smiled his cutest smile.  
  
Yuugi scratched his cheek, debating whether he should or not. "Umm, okay then. Sure!" He immediately picked up the phone and dialled his home number and put it on speakerphone.  
  
"Moshi moshi, Mutou residence. Who's calling?" The wavering tone of Sugaroku met everyone's ears.  
  
"It's me, Jii-san."  
  
"Oh, hello Yuugi." He paused. "Am I on speakerphone?" The room sweatdropped.   
  
"Uhh, yeah. Is that okay?"  
  
"Oh, yes yes. What are you calling for? I was expecting you to call around six for a ride home."  
  
"Well, Ryou got a call from Malik and he wanted us to fly out to Egypt." There was a fairly long pause. "Jii-san?"  
  
"Oh, yes. I'm here. Sure. When is it? Two weeks from now?"  
  
"Um, it's tomorrow..." Yuugi blinked.  
  
"But didn't you have exams?"  
  
Yuugi sweatdropped. "No..it's the weekend. We get four days off next week, anyway. I wouldn't miss too much. Don't worry about that."  
  
"Oh, in that case, I'll pick you up now so you can pack. Be in the driveway, alright?"  
  
"Oh!! Domo arigato, Jii-san! You're the best!" Yuugi beamed and hung up. "Yay!" Bakura snickered at the young boy's antics. "Okay, I'll get my school stuff together and wait outside for him. See ya soon!"   
  
  
  
"Okay. Here, I'll help." Ryou left his yami's warm side and bent over to retrieve a notebook lying in the middle of the room for no particular reason.  
  
When everything was shoved into Yuugi's shoulder bag, the ecstatic boy bowed and ran outside to a light humming in the driveway.   
  
"Well love, I guess we should get our stuff together, too. I don't think you'd like to show up with one pair of clothing once we're several continents away from Japan." Bakura stood up and much to Ryou's surprise and delight, he picked him up in his arms and carried him upstairs to their room.   
  
~Two hours later (10:45) ~  
  
"Ugh." Ryou flopped back onto the bed. "I've had enough packing to last me a lifetime. We've gotta have everything by now..." Bakura looked over at him through several piles of clothes from the closet.   
  
"Yeah. Let's take a break then." His face lit up. "Can we have ice cream, Ryou? Please??" Bakura shoved the piles down and helped Ryou up by his arms.   
  
"Sure." He was too tired to protest, anyway. His yami had spent the entire time pointing out things they needed, leaving Ryou to shovel through all the clothes.  
  
"Yay!" He rushed downstairs and came back up to kiss Ryou's cheek before speeding out to visit the nearest freezer in the kitchen. Ryou sweatdropped.  
  
~Ten minutes later~   
  
They were both sitting on the roof slowly licking their Neapolitan ice cream. Bakura finished his first and attacked Ryou's ticklish sides for his.   
  
"Wha! Hee hee, B-Bakura, take it th-then! Hahahaha!" Ryou grinned automatically and thrashed his arms to try and throw off the yami. Chucking it at his head, Ryou watched as Bakura leapt after it.   
  
After he had inhaled the remains of that one as well, Bakura sighed and leaned on his arms. Ryou snickered and leaned against his yami's side. There was hardly any shadow due to the fact that it was just past noon.  
  
"Ryou, why does it feel like something's gunna happen soon?"  
  
"I dunno. But I do know that a postman is carrying a package and heading into the driveway. Go down and meet him. I'm too tired."   
  
"Oh, fine." Bakura stood up and slid down to the edge and jumped off, landing like a cat.  
  
The startled postman looked up from reading the address to the albino who had landed right in front of him. "Oh! Hello, there. Do you know a Bakura Ryou that lives here?"  
  
"Sure do. He's on top of the roof right now." Bakura stood up and pointed to the roof.  
  
"Uh, well, could you give this to him, then? It's from someone named-" He paused to look at the return address. "Ishtahl Malik." Bakura raised an eyebrow for the second time that day.  
  
"Malik? Oh, that must be the tickets then." The postman handed him the small parcel, bowed and left. "Hey Ryou! Get down here!"   
  
The hikari stood on the edge and looked over. "Bit far..." He closed his eyes and jumped off, landing on his butt. "Ow!"  
  
"Come look, Ryou." The yami shoved the tickets under Ryou's nose and allowed him to inspect them.  
  
"The idiot booked us for the nine o'clock flight! We'll have to leave here at seven!"  
  
"Why seven?"   
  
"Because we have to be there an hour earlier and we still have to pick up Yuugi."   
  
"...Who's driving?"  
  
"Um...taxi?" Bakura rolled his eyes and then headed inside to resume the gruelling task of packing again.   
  
*  
  
This time, Ryou made Bakura collect things they didn't have packed yet, and lay on his back on the bed. "-and just one more pair of jeans. That should pretty much do it."  
  
"Fine. That's good, because there's one more in the bottom, here." Bakura bent over and picked up the final piece of clothing. Bakura held it by the top to shake of any wrinkles when a silver blade fell from its folds to the floor. "What?" Picking it up, he discarded the garment and inspected it closely. "Ryou..."  
  
The hikari sat up on the bed. "Yeah?"  
  
The yami felt his heart wrench at his soft voice, and looked back to the knife. "Why, why do you have a knife?" Ryou jerked at the mention of his former tool for pain.   
  
"Bakura..." He knew he was growing light-headed. He totally forgot about cutting once Bakura saved himself from his deep depression. "I.."  
  
"Dammit, Ryou! Why do you keep a knife?!" Bakura turned around and clutched the weapon tightly in his hand. Was he contemplating suicide, or something? A wave of short breaths numbed his voice. "Why?" His voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
"I...I, didn't know any other way to relieve the emotional pain that you put me through then. I never once thought about killing myself." He lowered his head and his voice soon matched the volume of his other. "I'm sorry..."  
  
Bakura was speechless. He had been the source? Momentarily closing his eyes to collect his remaining strength, the dark dropped the knife and walked sullenly over to Ryou's side and held him in an impossibly tight hug. A hot tear rolled down his face.  
  
Ryou pulled away and shod his long-sleeved shirt, exposing his pale scars even though some were still a bit inflamed and looked red. Bakura ran his fingers gently over each one. "Don't be..." His voice was still shaky.  
  
The two talked awkwardly for the next hour or so, making plans for what they would do once they arrived in Egypt.   
  
*  
  
Shinu walked the long and dusty streets of one of her previous life's homeland. Funny, how every time she was reincarnated, she had the same name. She had warped here about an hour ago and was now trying to find the small international airport she would be meeting the albino pair at tomorrow, and was wrapped up in memory. Ones that concerned her 'mystery' past life she didn't bother to tell anyone about. The one were she was taught compassion, love and respect. She was actually born into a loving family and found a lover, but even still, all of them eventually died, and never came back for her.   
  
A hot tear rolled down her sunburned cheek.   
  
"Jenkai..why did you choose to die? I could have saved you..." The lonely girl shoved her hands into her over-heated pockets and continued her search, her hair rolling in the wind.  
  
*  
  
Me: whew...that one took me a while to end... See, I wrote most of it in one night, but hit writer's block around the end, therefore delaying the update by at least a week. Gomen! ^^;;  
  
'Leanne: yeah, right. Excuses excuses...  
  
Bakura: ...  
  
Ryou: ...since when do I cut?...  
  
Me: umm, well, y'see...  
  
'Leanne: what she's trying to say is, if you read the first chapter again, you'd remember that Ryou had been thinking about his knife when he was in his room before Yuugi came. Y'see?  
  
Me: ...yeah...  
  
Shinu: aww, Jenkai...is that my 'lover?  
  
Me: um, yeah. Is that okay?  
  
Shinu: *all smiles* then that means I'm not totally insane and heartless! Yay! Ja, mina! r/r!! 


	11. Airbound

Me: and now back to story, folks!  
  
'Leanne: ...folks...?  
  
Me: yeah...you gotta problem with that?  
  
'Leanne: never mind... *shakes head*  
  
Shinu: humph...well at least I have a part in the fic...  
  
Ryou: ^^;; now now...  
  
Me: AHHHHH!!!! *screaming bloody murder*  
  
Everyone: O_o;;  
  
Me: MY MUSHROOMS!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: *runs in carrying bazooka shooting random mushrooms popping out of the ground* GWA HA HA HA!!! Take that, fan fiction authoress!!! You will never own Yu-Gi-Oh!!!  
  
*  
  
"Ryou...Ryou wake up." Bakura prodded the adolescent's side and twisted his hair into painful knots, but Ryou just groaned and tried to bat his hand away. He had to resort to more desperate measures. "It's 6:47. We're gunna be late."   
  
"It's WHAT?!" The startled hikari jumped on top of Bakura and squished his spiky head into the pillow so he could see the digital clock on the opposite bedside table. "Shit! I have to phone Yuugi to make sure he's ready to go in less than fifteen minutes!"  
  
And so he jumped off the suffocating yami and raced to the telephone, punching in random numbers from the depths of his brain and hoping they belonged to Yuugi Mutou.  
  
Bakura just shook his head and went downstairs to get a quick breakfast. Probably oatmeal again.  
  
*  
  
"All passengers for flight 106 to India now boarding." The hollow voice of the intercom rang through the near-empty airport, summoning everyone unfortunate enough to have booked a flight at 9:00 a.m.  
  
"Nuh... I'm not awake yet..." Ryou slumped against Bakura, whom was sitting in between him and a ragged-looking Yuugi. Bakura awkwardly thumped his zombie-ish hikari on his silvery head a few times and cringed at the groaning response he received.   
  
"Ryou, the roof says we have to get on the metal-bird thingy now...wake up..."  
  
"C'mon, Ryou. We're gunna miss the flight if you don't stand up." Though Yuugi was extremely tired that didn't stop him from dragging his fellow hikari towards the gates of the empty airport.  
  
Once Bakura, Ryou and Yuugi stepped onto the runway, a flight attendant came out to greet them and 'escort' them to the plane. The very small, very cramped plane.  
  
"Aww, man. We should've stolen a jet or something from Kaiba. He wouldn't miss it..." Bakura whined.  
  
"Well, it could be worse. We could have gotten a smaller plane with no roof. Besides, after this reaches India, we're switching to a bigger airline. So be happy that it's a place to rest for oh, about six hours." Yuugi responded with a grim smile.  
  
Their attendant, who also happened to be their pilot, approached the trio with a guilty kind of face. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but we only have two passenger seats ready."  
  
Ryou spoke coherent words for the first time since 6:52 that morning. "Thassokay. I'll sit on 'Kura's lap. No biggie..." With that, he fell asleep standing up and the pre-mentioned yami had to pick him up when it was time to board.  
  
A couple of hours past and due to the small area available to them for moving around, they were in the same positions as when they first boarded and no one was very cheerful about it. However, they were now officially awake.  
  
Yuugi was leaning on his arm, staring out the minute window. 'I wonder if Yami'll miss me at all...' He shook his head lightly and tried to occupy his mind with a less unsettling question. Turning to look at the golden-copper toned pendant hanging from his steel chain, he wondered whether or not they would ever reach India. Yuugi batted at the upside-down pyramid's capstone with his childish fingers.  
  
The plane flew through a patch of random clouds.  
  
"Bakura, why do you think Malik wanted us to fly to Egypt? Do you think he's..teamed with Marik, by any chance?" Ryou said through clenched teeth, for his head was pressed into the yami's chest.  
  
Bakura looked up from intently studying the cover of some manga they had picked up from a stand back at the airport to the hikari on his lap. He sighed deeply. "I really hope not. I mean, he was pretty friendly last time we saw him. In fact, I think the reason Malik moved back to Egypt was to get away from his other half." Ryou pondered this piece of evidence. "Marik isn't a yami, Ryou. He is the physical manifestation of Malik's rage towards his family's heritage." Bakura said this with a firm tone in his voice; as if he wanted to make sure Ryou knew that no yami would act like that.  
  
"Yeah, I know. But still…" The dark pressed his finger to Ryou's lips to silence him and then placed his own on the light's forehead.   
  
"Nothing will happen to you, Ryou. I won't let anything happen." Ryou smiled and nuzzled his head into he crook of Bakura's neck. He trusted Bakura to a nearly impossible extent, but that didn't mean he was perfectly, completely safe. Even spirits have a limit, though they would never admit it, even to themselves. That was their weak point.   
  
Ryou sighed and averted his thoughts to something more cheerful. After all, they were only about another hour's travel until they reached India. Then it was straight on to Egypt. No time to work off the jetlag to come. Oh well.  
  
~3:17 p.m.~  
  
The plane finally came to its halt on the sparkling pavement. The attendant thanked them for flying with whatever airline they were and undid the door's latch for the troop.  
  
Ryou nodded and climbed out of his yami's lap. Yuugi shook his head to rid it of its questions and jumped off without having to move much. The door was right beside him, after all.  
  
Bakura was a different matter. His nose was buried in the same manga mentioned earlier. It was called 'Gravitation', or something, and had gotten much more interesting. Yuki was still a bastard in his opinion, though. For some odd reason, Shuichi seemed a lot like Ry-  
  
WHAP!!  
  
"OW!!" Ryou had to pound his yami's head before he got to wrapped up in his insanity. "Waddya do that for?!"   
  
He only shook his head in embarrassment before leaving Bakura left sitting on the plane; one hand clutching the top of his head and the other his book.  
  
*  
  
Yami sighed deeply. Yuugi hadn't said much when he had informed his of his sudden departure with the Bakuras. Only a short, jumbled up explanation and an awkward hug. Had they really grown that far apart? Ever since Mae had shown up again..everything had gone wrong...  
  
Yami choked. He couldn't tell if it was to hide possible tears pushing at his eyelids or on the dust of the old attic. He had taken residence there after his hikari got up and left-  
  
He stopped at that thought. Maybe Yuugi wanted to...wanted to get away from, him? The former pharaoh bit his lip so hard to stop it from quivering, blood had started to trickle down his chin.  
  
Yuugi, Yuugi was all he could think about. Maybe he wasn't so naïve. Maybe he could've handled the situation better than /he/ could have. Perhaps his juvenile personality was only a mask. A mask to hide memories? Past pain? Had someone tried to hurt him before, or something? Yami had never really bothered to ask and only assumed that the exterior Yuugi was the only Yuugi.  
  
Now he could see how their relationship had kind of diminished. Yami didn't ever tell Yuugi what was on his mind and therefore Yuugi couldn't help him. Yami couldn't face his problems on his own and ended up pushing his own hikari away. Maybe that's what happened between Ryou and his yami? He never did ask Ryou-kun how Bakura treated him.  
  
Yami exhaled deeply again. Maybe he was too much of a worry-wart. Ryou was probably fine and Yuugi didn't /really/ hate him. When he got back in a week Yami would apologize and everything would go back to normal. If you could ever call the late pharaoh's spirit normal.  
  
*  
  
Yuugi-tachi ended up staying at a hotel in India anyway because their flight was cancelled due to extreme weather condition. Apparently the winds were to high to have a safe flight takeoff, or something. But that was just fine by the group. After all, no one was really looking forwards to sleeping on an airplane and arriving at one in the morning, at least to them.  
  
"The food was great too!" Yuugi exclaimed once the group exited the Indian restaurant. Bakura was slightly appalled at the menu and ended up ordering the one thing he recognized; chicken teriyaki. The other two hikaris got some dish neither could even attempt to pronounce, but liked it anyway.  
  
"Yeah yeah." Bakura droned. His one hand was crammed in his pocket while the other was in some kind of a death-grip from Ryou. "It was better at the hotel. At least their's was edible."  
  
Ryou rolled his eyes but continued walking. "There are somethings that taste good outside of pasta and greasy foods, 'Kura. And chips." All his dark did was scowl. Ryou smiled. "But anyway, we only have this last flight and we'll be in Egypt. Aren't you excited Baku-chan?"  
  
Bakura's eye twitched involuntarily, but he decided to endure the nicknames. "Yeah, kinda." He looked to be staring intently at the ground, as if avoiding a question.  
  
/What's wrong? Something bugging you about returning to your homeland?/ Ryou decided to exercise their link in case Bakura didn't want to tell Yuugi, or something.  
  
Bakura blinked at the unusual telepathy waves, but decided it might be okay to tell Ryou. //Maybe.// He changed his vision from the ground to the space in front of him. //I'm just wor-wondering about Shinu. That's all.//  
  
Ryou fell silent. Bakura was about to say he was worried about her. Were they involved back then? Maybe that's why he was so jumpy lately. But-that shouldn't matter, right? 'I mean, I...we...' Ryou really couldn't put the right words together, but they were together now, so any old flames shouldn't matter now. Yeah, that's it.   
  
Yuugi looked over at the pair. Both albinos weren't talking, at least not out loud. The violet-eyed boy heaved his chest and went back to his own thoughts about Yami. His own, anyway. 'I wonder what he's doing now?' Yuugi chuckled and shook his head at his own slowness. Of course Yami would be worried about him. He always was... Yuugi smiled. 'That was how much he cared-cares for me.' He just didn't want his hikari to be hurt.  
  
The yami and oldest of the group clutched Ryou's hand just a fraction of a bit tighter. Feeling the warmth from his love gave him enough strength to board the plane to Egypt. He came to the conclusion that Shinu was way over his mistakes and had her own problems to deal with.  
  
So when they all reached the airport and when boarding call was sounded, every single one of them went reassured and well prepared to face the obstacles ahead, should there be any.  
  
*  
  
Shinu was currently lying on chunk of grass near the outskirts of the city.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Ahh!" A sixteen-year old girl with light-brown hair and light blue cotton dress was knocked to the ground by a new resident of their small, upper-Canada village.  
  
"Ah, sorry there, miss. I guess I really wasn't looking where I was going." A boy who looked a couple of years older than her extended a hand to help her up. A big, idiotic grin was plastered over his face. "Let me help you with those." The nameless boy yanked her up somewhat gently and proceeded to pick up the tied bags of freshly milled wheat that she was carrying.  
  
The girl shook the late autumn leaves out of her loose braid and focused her sight onto her attacker.  
  
"Why, aren't you part of the new colonists from Britain?" She continued to dust her off-white apron off. She hated being dirty in front of a stranger.  
  
The young boy looked up and gave her a toothy smile once again. "Yup, that's me and my family alright! Wow, it's not everyday a young, pretty thing like you recognizes me. My name's Jenkai. Jenkai Jones." Jenkai lifted the sacks up and threw them over his burly shoulders. He extended his hand out to her for the second time that day.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
"Our first meeting and the best years of my lifeline. And in the end, it didn't matter anyway..." Mae shifted in the blazing sun of Ra and into the shade of a nearby tree. A very short, very crippled-looking tree, but a tree nonetheless.  
  
*  
  
'Leanne: ...Upper Canada?  
  
Me: ;; eh heh, yes... Well, what did you want me to do? I really wanted to pick out a place that didn't appear in every other fic out there and something I knew a thing or two about...  
  
Shinu: ... *speechless*  
  
'Leanne: ^^;; okay then. If you say so.  
  
Ryou: aww...there wasn't much shonen-ai in this chappie...not fair...  
  
Bakura: humph. *crosses arms and tries to look like he doesn't care*  
  
Me: y'know, Baku-kun, you aren't very convincing...  
  
Bakura: *eye twitches again* don't...call...me...that... :C  
  
Me: whatever, Baku-kun. Ja! ^^  
  
(p.s. yays! I got the first Trigun DVD and the second Gravitation manga! Apparently so did Baku...eh heh heh...) 


	12. A Different Horizon

Me: erm, so sorry for the delay in updates, but I had to write another story for English class, and that took a good (2) weeks to do (without any input into these fics! ^^;;) Gomen!!! At least I'm trying to update every week...  
  
Angela: She's not even /finished/ it yet.... (at the time of author's note writing)  
  
'Leanne: *rolls eyes* yeah...whatever...  
  
Me: Don't you think I'm doing better?   
  
Ryou: ^^ of course you are! 'Leanne is just being weird, that's all.  
  
Me: ooh, arigato, Ryou-kun! Well, at least that's one person that likes me... *sticks tongue out at 'Leanne* :Þ  
  
Angela: I like you too!!!!!!!!!  
  
Me: *backs away in fear* freak.....  
  
Angela: *puppy-dog face* ... meanie....  
  
Disclaimer: *walks in dressed in a black suit and glasses* Miss, I believe you don't have the proper authority to be using Kazuki Takahashi's characters out of the anime: Yu-Gi-Oh!. I am here to confiscate your means of writing these stupid and pointless plots-  
  
Warning: *whacks Disclaimer with a frying pan the size of a small table* Goddamnit! So annoying... _ ANYwho... In this chapter, shonen-ai (finally), and possible yaoi. Don't count on it, though. Don't like? Don't read.  
  
Me: *pumps fist in air* you tell them, Warning! \^-^ And by the way, ane-san means sister.  
  
*  
  
A blonde-haired Egyptian sat on a rumpled bed sheet, fingers intertwined and head dropped out of sight between his tanned arms. "Why did it have to be now..?"  
  
An effervescent drop fell from the corner of his scarred eye to the carpeted floor.  
  
"Why /him/?" He bit his lip harshly to stop his screaming from reaching the far reaches of the world. "Why ME?!"   
  
The young teen heard the front door to his small house creak close. Whoever it was apparently didn't want anyone else to know they were there; otherwise they wouldn't bother to hush their already soft footfalls. He gulped, but raised his head to glare intently at the shut sunroom door.  
  
"Ane-san? Th-that you..?" He tried his best to calm his hiccupping.  
  
The partly-glass door shadowed a hand reaching for the silvergold knob.  
  
*  
  
"All passengers please fasten your seatbelts. We are approaching the Memphis International Airport, and will be landing soon..." was all the group caught before it turned into Arabic to relay the same message. Not that any of them could speak Arabic.   
  
"Bakura...Bakura, it's time to get off now." Ryou poked his yami several times in the head before the sleepy spirit would show any signs of life.   
  
"Nuh...not yet..." He rolled over to face away from his lighter half.  
  
Now Ryou was getting inpatient. "And you called /me/ tired yesterday." He rested his palms on the warm shoulders of his other half and sighed. "C'mon, do you want to go back to India?" This seemed to stir Bakura slightly. Probably at the recollections of all the Cajun food he disliked so.  
  
Yuugi in the set behind them had already gotten up and was waiting in the aisle for the albino couple. Even though it was hard to get the young prince of games irritated, now was one of those rare times.   
  
A stray bang fell over his forehead. Yuugi's temple flexed. "Ryou...will you get him up, now??" He was trying his best to keep to a low voice. Low meaning not screaming but loud enough so that the rest of the remaining passengers could hear perfectly fine. A few turned heads, but they all stayed silent.  
  
Ryou raised his eyebrows at his friend's unusual tone. Freakishly like Yami's, actually. "I'm trying Yuugi-kun." An evil grin spread across his normally passive face. "Unless, of course, you wanted to try..."  
  
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Ryou was shoved somewhat violently out of the way and Yuugi took over.  
  
The teen leaned over the sleeping Egyptian and held his mouth close to Bakura's ear. "Bakura..." The albino shuddered at the tickle, but did nothing else. He took a breath. "WAKE UP NOW, DAMNIT!!"  
  
"AH!" Bakura jumped, knocking Yuugi off his awkwardly placed feet. "I'm up already!"  
  
"Took you long enough..." muttered Ryou as he stood up and started to walk towards the exit. Yuugi joined him shortly after followed by a yawning theif.  
  
Directly after entering the foreign airport, they all made gangway for the nearest snack concession stand that had things other than Arabic munchies and just plain, wholesome, BBQ chips. Yuugi whipped out the international credit card his Jii-san had given him before leaving and paid. Soon nothing was heard to the group outside of the crinkling of their bags being torn viciously open.  
  
Bakura casually leaned over towards his hikari and clasped their hands together, still munching on his breakfast. Ryou smiled subconsciously and shook his hair to remove all the wrinkles and frizz created on the plane. "Bakura, was anybody supposed to meet us here? I mean, where are we supposed to go now?"  
  
He shoved another chip inside his mouth. "I don't know, Ryou. You were the one who made all the plans, not me. I didn't talk to Malik on the phone. How should I know?" Yuugi rolled his eyes. They were here now, like Malik wanted them to be, and they didn't know where they were going? He sighed deeply. Oh well. Things were going a bit better than before, anyway, no matter how negatively he looked at it. Hey, Malik needed them, didn't he? So they should be glad they could help out.  
  
It was about then that a girl's figure came bounding towards them, dressed in a /very/ short skirt and white tee, hat flying off her brownish-red hair. "Hey guys! I'm here to get you!" All three of the guys looked up. "Why the long faces? At least I remembered!" Bakura sweatdropped slightly. Was she Shinu? Looked, but certainly didn't act like her...  
  
Ryou stood up and bowed. "My name's Bakura Ryou-"  
  
"Yes, yes. I've heard a lot about you, Ryou. Bakura talks about you a lot. Or so I hear, anyway. Has he told you about me? Well it doesn't matter, I'll tell you myself. No interruptions, all right?" Ryou's eyes went wide. Did this girl even need to breathe? She talked so much. "Being Japanese and all, I guess you already know that my name means 'to die again', but it's quite literal, I'll tell you. And that shouldn't be too hard to accept. You have a 3000-year old lover, after all." Ryou blushed. "Well, that's about all you should know for now. Let's get out of here." Shinu grabbed both Ryou and Bakura's hands and nodded her head somewhat jerkily, signaling Yuugi to follow her out of the airport.   
  
No one had the nerve to disobey her, and followed quietly, a bit freaked out by her excessive talking. When they exited the crowded airport, Shinu stopped, looked around and picking out a definite direction, started to stride away from the souvenir shop.  
  
"Uhh, miss? Are we going to see Malik soon?" Ryou asked as he got pulled along semi-against his will.  
  
She seemed to falter a bit but kept on walking towards wherever she was taking them. "Not yet, hun. It's gunna be awhile before we get to meet up with him again. He's got some, uhh, stuff to do around town first."   
  
"Oh...okay..."  
  
Yuugi frowned. something here wasn't right... Malik asks them to come to his homeland ASAP, and he's too busy when they do arrive? That just didn't seem like something he'd do, pushing them aside when he seemed to need their help direly... He shook his head and decided that it probably didn't mean much.  
  
Shinu stopped again, held up one forefinger and made a grunt-like noise. "Oh! Since we have a bit of time on our hands, why not go see the pyramid close by? It's always a neat site. I've actually never been inside myself."  
  
Bakura snuffed and Yuugi looked at the ground.  
  
"Well, I guess... How long do you thin Malik will be, anyway?" Ryou spoke up for the rest of the group.  
  
"All I know, kid, that he told me that he'll be busy for awhile and he's sorry he couldn't see you sooner." She rolled her shoulders and closed her eyes lightly, giving her a more mysterious look, like her old self. "I just thought we could do something while we're waiting..."  
  
Bakura clucked his tongue. She was acting more like her old self now. //I don't trust her, Ryou. I don't think we should go.//  
  
/Hum? Really? Well, you know her better, I guess./  
  
//...// Bakura remained quite. Did he really still know her? 'She's so different now...'   
  
/Well, she hasn't done anything yet, so just be on your guard, all right? Let's follow her for now./ Ryou grumbled as a piece of sand blew into his eye. /Don't worry. I trust you./  
  
//...Thanks...// Bakura found his hand looking for his hikari's and when he did, he wished he would never have to let go.  
  
*  
  
"Whose there?" Malik repeated again. 'It's just ane-san...it's just ane-san...' he kept telling himself over and over. He wouldn't let himself think anything else, because if he did, he knew his mind would think of the worst-case scenario: Marik.  
  
/Click./ The foggy glass door swung open and revealed a tall man wearing a turban and sandy robe standing in the doorway still clasping the handle, staring down at him. "The time is coming, son of Maliku-sama. It falls not on my line of duty, but yours. Prepare yourself." And just like that, the man in the turban was gone.  
  
'I've...I've seen him before.'  
  
"The time..." the Egyptian gasped loudly. Of course! It had to have something to do with Marik! And if it had something to do with him, it had something to do with Bakura and Ryou. "I've got to help them."   
  
So he dashed out of the tiny sunroom, silently thanking both Ra and the turbaned man.  
  
*  
  
Me: REALLY wanted to get this out before everyone out there killed me (gomen!!), so I cut it a bit short. I didn't mean to! Really! I just had a /teensy/ bit of something more evil than homework itself: Writer's Block! Ah! Death to Block! Die die!! *throws rocks at massive wall teetering overhead*  
  
'Leanne: ...she's lost it...  
  
Shinu: yup...  
  
Ryou: *is in another part of the Universe, totally oblivious to everyone else's antics* R/R mina-san! Ja! 


	13. Into the Snake Pit

Me: ;; gomen, I was a bit late updating, but I had to finish my cosplay costume for Anime North (as Ryou! -) and I was just a /bit/ wrapped up in drawing things...yeah.  
  
'Leanne: (sighs) I guess...  
  
Ryou: erm...you're gunna be me?  
  
Bakura: (looks around madly) two Ryous?!  
  
Me: baka... (knocks him out with an oversized frying pan) and a forewarning, I'm not sure if he'll be a big part in the story (all depends on what you people want), but Varon is introduced in this chapter. I don't know if that's his Japanese name, but he's not an OC. He's part of Doom Organization arc, if anyone was wondering.  
  
Disclaimer: (coughs) I'm back from my short leave. I hope you haven't /forgotten/ about me... And the fact that you will never own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Warning: (huffs) oh, stuff it, already. Shonen-ai definitely in this chapter.  
  
Me: yeah...I guess I've been writing too much about the individuals emotions and advancing the plot, without much fluff. Bah... Well, hope this chapter can make up for that. Now...let's start writing!

* * *

Malik rushed down the dusty street. 'Marik...where could he be..?' If he could have seen himself, he'd probably think that he'd lost it, looking /for/ him, instead of running away. "Running away...is that all I ever do?" The Egyptian muttered to himself while passing a mob of rabid fangirls and one guy squealing over the latest something or other...  
  
The boy in the center of the crowd seemed to be the only one to notice him. The one with spiky brown hair held back with green-tinted goggles.  
  
"What's wrong, Varon? See something?" A blonde turned to look at him, and by then Malik was far into the distance.  
  
Varon shook his head slightly. "No, I just thought I saw someone running to their fate, that's all."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You know I don't believe in that stuff."

)(

"Damn bitch. Where could she be?" Marik stood in the swirling grey nothing of the Shadow Realm, waiting for Mae Shinu to show up. He had been standing there for about half an hour. Of course, as the nature of the dark, he had no idea if that was really how long he had been in here. It was, after all, the illusion tricks of the Shadow Realm that ate away at a person's soul.  
  
A cloud of silver aura curled up off the 'ground' and began to solidify into a person with a medium build and brownish-red hair.  
  
"You're late! What happened to the arranged time, Mae?" Marik was just a bit more than aggravated. No one kept him waiting!  
  
She nodded her head. "Nice to see you again, too, Marik." He snorted. "All is going well. Bakura and Ryou have arrived in Cairo and I have just taken a short leave. I can't stay here for long."  
  
The split darkness crossed his arms. "I understand."  
  
Shinu bit her lip and recoiled slightly. "Oh, and one thing. Yuugi is with them. Apparently he had been invited along."  
  
Marik growled. "It can't be helped now." He started to sublimate into the grey vapour again. "Do try harder next time, Mae." And with that, he was gone from that plane of existence.  
  
'How can I try harder when I'm doing all the real work?' she thought to herself as the nothingness began to take her back.

)(

Ryou walked back towards his yami and close friend that he had left standing on the blistering sidewalk when Shinu said she needed to do something 'just for a second'.  
  
"She said that she'd only be a minute, guys." He stopped and stood in front of both the sweat-drenched boys. /You all right, 'Kura? Worried?/ For not only was Bakura soaked in perspiration, but his brow was furrowed in deep thought.  
  
Just thinking about what she would need to do now.  
  
/Well, let's not think about that right now./ The younger albino turned to Yuugi. "Why don't we go check on her, just in case?"  
  
"Yeah, it's boring waiting around here, anyway." Yuugi responded with a half-hearted smile. Why did it feel like they weren't telling him something? 'Doesn't this sound familiar...' But he had already decided Yami's reasons for not telling him, and why should theirs be any different? It would feel too lonely if he thought otherwise.  
  
"Hey, guys! Were you just about to go looking for me?" Shinu seemed to pop out of nowhere. All three jumped a bit, really not expecting her to show like that. "I was just checking the pyramid showing hours, and it seems that there's a special tour on later."  
  
Bakura, like always, remained silent. Yuugi, however, jumped at the opportunity. "Yeah! If we're going to see it, we might as well go to the better exhibition. I wanted to check out that game store I saw earlier."  
  
Ryou bobbed his head up and down. "Well, I think jetlag has finally got to me. Why don't you and Shinu go?" Bakura smiled. There was more to this than Ryou was saying. After all, they hadn't gotten to spend much time together because of Yuugi.  
  
Shinu nodded. "Let's do that then. You and Bakura can crash at Malik's house." Her copper hair swung around her shoulders as she turned abruptly. "Go down that street, turn left and it's the third house on your right. You can't miss it. It's the only place on the street with several upturned motorcycles on the lawn." Mae grinned. "Yuugi and I'll take a while to get back. You enjoy ourselves, now." Ryou blushed.  
  
"Better be off, then! I wanna see as many new games as I can." Yuugi chirped and with a wink from Shinu, they were off."  
  
Ryou spun on his heel and immediately collapsed against his yami. "We better get going too, then, if we don't want to forget the directions."

)(

By now, the two were settled inside Malik's rec room; Bakura lounging across the sofa and Ryou sprawled on top of him.  
  
The lighter sighed deeply. The awkward silence was getting to him. Ryou was getting desperate for a conversation topic. "I wonder where Malik is."  
  
Bakura shrugged and embraced his hikari loosely. He stuck his nose into Ryou's deep, silky locks and breathed in the unique scent.  
  
"..Bakura?" Ryou had at first thought of using the link, but remembered that they were alone, anyway.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Ryou remained silent. There was something on his mind; something that wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried to force it out. And that something happened to be with Yuugi at the moment. It seemed so much that she was trying to hide something. But why would she? What would she keep away from the rest of them?  
  
The young albino shivered, despite the Egyptian heat and Bakura.  
  
You know that I could never stop loving you, right?  
  
This took Ryou off guard. /Yes./ He grinned. /You told me the night you came back home to me./  
  
But I wasn't quite sure that you believed me. So I'm telling you again, now.Bakura paused to run his fingers through Ryou's hair. Do you believe me?  
  
Ryou cooed as he felt his older half comb through his hair. "You wouldn't believe how much I believe you." And his thoughts and worries of Shinu seemed to dissipate, at least just right then.

)(

Yuugi, now completely loaded down with various game boards and booklets, skipped to keep up with Mae's brisk pace. "Wait up, Mae-san! You're walking too fast!" he whined. Shinu didn't answer, and instead of slowing down, she actually sped up.  
  
"Suck it up, brat. We have to get back to Malik's place. The, exhibition is starting soon."  
  
He automatically skipped a step and tightened his lips to a fine line. One of the heavier parcels tugged to be let free, and he had to jump a bit to keep a grip on it. 'What's her problem?' Not receiving another word from her, Yuugi let it be. Nothing else happened as both continued on their way, arriving in about ten minutes on the doorstep.  
  
"Well, knock. We'll be late." Shinu snapped. Yuugi gulped and did as she wished without protesting. He'd have to inform Bakura and Ryou of her sudden mood change later.  
  
"Coming," came the muffled reply. A few seconds later stumbling was heard and a thief king's reincarnation opened the door to Yuugi and Mae. "Hey! There you guys are. We were wondering were you had gotten to." Then he noticed all the packages and chuckled. "Looks like someone found someplace they liked."  
  
Yuugi grinned. "You bet!-"  
  
"Well, anyway. Let's go now. It starts in less than fifteen minutes." The brown-haired girl clucked her tongue. Yuugi grimaced. He hadn't gotten to finish what he was going to say without her interruption. She was so different in the last hour or so from when they, or at least Ryou and him, had first met her.  
  
"You sure Malik won't be back any time soon? I mean - five minutes won't matter much when it's just around the corner." Ryou suggested.  
  
Bakura shouted from the living room. "Yes, let's wait. I don't feel like moving much right now, anyway." and drew an eye roll from his lighter half.  
  
Shinu twirled her hair tediously. "No, I'm pretty sure he said he'd take quite a bit. We might as well go now and not miss it. C'mon, let's go." Not that she gave the group much choice because that's when she turned and dragged both Yuugi and Ryou down the front yard. Bakura had no other option other than to follow if he wanted to keep an eye on Shinu.

)(

After about ten minutes of Bakura remaining silent other than a message of annoyance or so straight to his hikari and Yuugi hopping along, trying to keep up once again with her, they had almost reached their destination.  
  
Mae, however, had much on her mind. Marik was growing very impatient with her, and if she wanted to keep her own scheme going, she had to be careful of what she said around him. Time was also running too fast, and the plan had to be carried out extremely soon. The good thing was, Marik did manage to keep Malik occupied long enough, and as far as she knew, everything was set up as it was supposed to be.  
  
So as the pyramid drew closer and closer into everyone's view, they all had very different things on their minds.

)(

"One..last..chance..." Malik huffed. His hand had been supporting his heaving chest for a while now and he could have sworn that the thickness of his callused feet must have doubled by now. But no matter, this was his only chance to save them, and himself. 'No one else knows..no one else..." He had begun thinking and it had eventually turned into words.  
  
He rounded the last standing corner in his way and dug his heels into the sand he had just run into. "Where are they..?" He had to find them..otherwise... He gulped. Malik wasn't quite sure exactly what would happen, but he was positive they, nor he, would like it.  
  
Once he had finally spotted Ryou-tachi, Malik spun out of control and began a crazy dash through the desert dust. 'Gotta make it, I have to..'  
  
"Where's the fire, Malik?"  
  
The Egyptian's heart sank to the bottom of his pounding feet and he couldn't help but slow down, then stop. That voice...  
  
"Don't tell me you've forgotten our little deal?" Marik rose out of a mid- day mirage.  
  
Malik stood paralyzed with fear like a deer caught in headlights. "You-you stay away from me..." His other half did nothing but ignore his pleas and came closer. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore, y'hear?!" he shrieked. 'Not again, please..' Again, Marik took another step towards him. "Stay away!!"  
  
"Now, is that any way to treat your other half? How can I stay away when I /am/ you?"  
  
The original boy shuddered. "You..aren't me." Then he remembered why he was here. 'Bakura and Ryou!' And then it dawned on him. Marik was after them. But he was also talking to him right now. So if he could distract him long enough... Malik didn't like the sounds of that at all. But for their sake... "You aren't me!"  
  
It was then when Marik also spotted the group of four trekking across the desert towards the lone pyramid. He smirked. "Trying to fool me? How juvenile of you, Malik. And here I thought you were just trying to run away from your duties we decided upon." He swooped down on the witless boy in front of him and engaged him in a vicious one-sided battle of tongues.  
  
Malik's eyes shot wide open and started to thrash around.  
  
Marik let him go. "Remember, Malik, you belong to me." He whimpered pathetically. "Now, I have business elsewhere." He turned towards the fleeting bunch. "Don't forget our /deal/, now, Malik." And he was gone once again.  
  
Malik felt his knees turn to jelly. As he fell into the sand, he could feel his hands and shins burn from the heat, his eyes burn with tears, and his face burned of his crimson blush. He didn't have to look up to know that they were already inside Pharaoh Atemu's pyramid.

* * *

Me: (coughs) yes...  
  
Yami: -.0 ... Atemu? Whozza?  
  
Me: yes! Do you not know your own name?  
  
Yami: hey! (pokes his head) amnesia, remember? The Ra-damned puzzle freaking took them!  
  
Me: -.-U whatever...it's your real name to let you know. (it is! the Egyptian Arc manga said so!)  
  
Malik: (is completely speechless) ... #.#;;;;;;;;  
  
Ryou: (picks him up and straps him into a psycho outfit)  
  
Shinu: (kicks Malik out the door)  
  
Bakura chibi: R/R, mina! Ja  
  
Ryou: ':[ what the hell?  
  
P.S. this chapter is dedicated to UnknownDarkMystery! - it is her birthday, after all! So lets send out a cheer her way, ok?  
  
All muses and me: (whoops and cheers) YEA!! 


	14. A New Reason

Me: wah! It's a marathon! (you see, I started on this a/n right after I finished typing the 9th chappie of Kept. :D I'm so proud! ;-; Even though I decided my brain deserved a break and I stopped typing for a week. So come delays... .;;  
  
'Leanne: O.o;; oh my... (backs away)  
  
Me: (glomps 'Leanne) don't run away! We only have !TWO! more chapters to go for this story! Yay! My first fic is almost done! :3 (-- kitty-kat face) Actually, this is technically my second story, but no one needs to know that... (shifty eyes)  
  
'Leanne: if you say so. Yet, I don't think anyone really cares.  
  
Me: in other news...  
  
Shinu: other...?  
  
Me: yes. Well, anyway. (stares at Shinu) I got my orange stripe in Hapkido! :D Wow! Yes I know, you're all too excited for words!  
  
'Leanne: (looks at readers) actually, I think they're more scared than excited...  
  
Me: whatever... (I know, I'm saying that a lot, but neh... ;P)  
  
Warning: Not much explicit content in this one. Just a lot of confusing parts that were added in because the authoress forgot about those particular details-  
  
Me: (slaps hand over Warning's mouth) Ahem! They don't need to know that! I'm the amazing writer that knows all and sees all! I make no such miscalculations!  
  
Disclaimer: yeah, all right. If you say so... (glares at audience) No own Yu-Gi-Oh! Muah ha ha!  
  
Me: -.-U

* * *

'Now...happen right about now...' prayed Mae. They were just about to enter the information booth and into the pyramid, and it was drawing awfully close. Where was Marik? He was supposed to be sending them back to the real Atemu's tomb.  
  
It was right before they had officially gone through the 'door' (more like a curtain) when a searing white flash went off and embraced them all.  
  
"Ahh!! What-what's happening?!" screamed Yuugi. /Yami!!/ He had used their link as a reflex, though inside, he knew from before that both had to maintain it.  
  
"Bakura!" Ryou felt the ground sink out from under him as his arms flew from his sides and it almost seemed to swallow him whole.  
  
Bakura immediately reached out to grab a hold of Ryou's striped shirt and pulled him tight against his chest.  
  
Shinu drew in a breath and braced herself. She held her arms in front of her face to protect her eyes from various chunks of flying sand, and to look like she wasn't expecting this, of course. 'Well, he remembered all right. Now for plan B.'  
  
The kiosk guy blinked as he saw three guys and a girl seemingly incinerate in a flash of light. "What the...?"  
  
)(  
  
Yami jumped up from his and Suguroku's current game of Go and looked around wildly. "Huh?!" Something...something had just happened to Yuugi...  
  
"Err...Yami? Something the matter?" He was still holding his black stone in the air.  
  
"Um, what's the fastest way to wherever Yuugi went?"  
  
"That would probably be one of Kaiba-san's old souped-up jets. Why?" Suguroku closed his eyes and set down his stone at 4-6.  
  
"Bye." Yami dashed out of the door before he could see that Yuugi's grandfather had just captured more than half his stones with one move.  
  
'KaibaKaibaKaibaKaiba....' He rounded a corner. "Now, where does he live again? I know I've been there..of course, that was also the time Mokuba tried to poison Jonouchi and me...but that's beside the point."   
  
"Kaiba residence this way. Proceed to the right at the next turn" read a sign to the left of the road. Yami sweatdropped. He even has directions put up? 'Well, all the better for me, I guess.' Following the next ten or so road signs, Yami made it in about six minutes.  
  
"Bam bam bam bam bam!"  
  
"I know you're there, Kaiba! Lemme in right now!" he yelled from the front doorstep.  
  
A croaky voice crackled through the intercom. "Kaiba-sama is in a meeting right now. Come in and he'll be with you shortly."  
  
"No, wait I-"  
  
The intercom went dead.  
  
"-need to see him now..." Yami slumped his shoulders as a steady stream of oddly straight tears flushed from his eyes. "This is not my day..."  
  
)(  
  
"What...what just happened?" Yuugi moaned. He was facedown in the scalding sand in front of yet another pyramid. Attempting to get up carefully with his bruised hands, the boy found that everyone was also eating dirt.  
  
"Nuh...no idea..." Ryou stuck his sandblasted tongue out. "Bleah... Sand tastes awful." Bakura happened to be lying half-unconscious underneath his hikari when Ryou decided to brush off all the excess and he groaned.  
  
Shinu, however, was quite unstartled and promptly balanced herself and stood up. "Well, that wasn't expected." 'For those certain individuals...' "C'mon. Let's see if we can find ourselves in this forsaken desert." She motioned towards the pyramid and took a step. "I guess we should start with what we can see."  
  
Yuugi hadn't forgotten about her weird mood swings. He sat up and locked his eyes with hers, attempting to read them. She stared back, blinking twice and then turned to Bakura and Ryou now getting up. 'Figures. She knew what I was trying to do.'  
  
The sun was just seeping over its last bit of land and about to disappear. Catching the capstone of Pharaoh Atemu's tomb and shattering about, the multi-coloured strands of light enthralled the mind of the entire group. Including Mae.  
  
'If only it didn't end like this. Only a bit longer.' Shinu.  
  
'I...I'm not going to ruin the mood for my friends. I'll wait to tell them about Shinu.' Yuugi.  
  
'I wish I could take this home with me to show everyone...' Ryou.  
  
Bakura was trying to suppress memories of his past. Oh no, the sunsets were always the good ones, it wasn't because of that. Just because it was depressing to think that those were the only nice memories he had. But that was about it.  
  
As the sun was beginning to set, Mae was getting rather impatient. She took a leading couple of steps towards the only visible structure around and rolled her eyes. "C'mon. The last place we want to be at night is in the middle of a desert. Can we /please/ go inside now?"   
  
Yuugi wrinkled his noise at the sudden chill brought by a light breeze. "Sure."  
  
With that O.K. from Yuugi, the rest followed Shinu around the wide brim of the tomb. But after about five minutes of doing so, Ryou was beginning to wonder if they were even going to find an entrance. He remembered from his father's research books that the doorways were sealed off so even the servants trapped inside couldn't reach the outside. He voiced this dilemma to the rest of his companions.  
  
Bakura nodded to signify his understanding of Ryou's concern. "But if I can remember correctly, this pyramid looks very similar to one belonging to certain pharaoh friend of ours."  
  
Yuugi cocked his head. "How can you tell? It looks like any other pyramid I've seen in books."  
  
"Well, there lies your problem, oh short one." Bakura chided. "They obviously didn't give you a close-up of some. See these building blocks?" He rested a hand on the cold stone. "They have tiny inscriptions on the top or sides. Just to let you know who made them, etcetera... These come from Deir El-Medina."  
  
"Ah ha ha ha. Very smart, Bakura." Marik appeared from behind Ryou and stood with his hands on his hips, laughing.  
  
Bakura turned around at the announcement from a too-well known voice and growled. "You bastard."  
  
"Oh don't worry," Marik winked. "I'm sure he was good." and motioned to Ryou, now shaking and backing up.  
  
That remark brought Bakura to about his breaking point and he shuddered, palms clenched. He repeated his insult. This time, the true darkness decided that Marik wasn't going to leave here unwounded. Like before, he wouldn't go in less than six pieces. So the albino incarnation swung a quick fist upside Marik's head, and just as fast, flew straight through and stumbled.  
  
Their visitor cackled again. "Don't you raiders learn? This is my astreal form being projected from my physical body. You know..." he flicked his freakish bangs. "My 'solid' soul?"  
  
"Only you could have a soul so corrupt, Marik. Now leave us alone." Yuugi blurted out. Marik cocked a sadistic eyebrow at him and Yuugi promptly squeaked and scuttled in between Mae and Ryou. Shinu grimaced. "And you." he turned towards the only woman there. "Double-facing us all. You made the mistake of showing your hidden colours to me."  
  
Upon hearing Yuugi say such a thing, Marik furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Mae. Bakura followed suit, feeling the instinctual tug of his shared Sennen item. Shinu shuffled and fidgeted under their persistent leers.  
  
'How could she have jeopardized something like this?' Marik thought to himself. 'I'll have to speed this up, then.' He suddenly gave off a blinding flash, and his body turned flesh and bone again. Since everyone was either staring at Shinu or blocking their eyes from his light, the split personality dove towards Ryou, grabbing both his wrists.  
  
"You're coming with me." Marik growled. Ryou immediately let out a high-pitched yell and tried to scramble away. "Oh no you don't." and he slapped his tough hand over the albino's mouth.  
  
Bakura jumped off the ground and rushed to his hikari's aid. Tears of old memories running past his eyes, he fell onto his hands and flung his own two feet from under him, trying to hit Marik's own and knock him off balance. This, however, failed miserably because Marik scattered his and Ryou's partials throughout the warm air and teleported them both deep within the pyramid itself.  
  
"No!" Bakura fell to his knees and pounded the ground harshly. His tears were pushing harder at his eyelids, wanting so much to be let free. Bakura had made the mistake of leaving them together before, and he wasn't about to make it again. He got up and dashed towards the steps that were now visible to lead visitors inside.  
  
"Bakura! Don't be a fool and throw your life away!" Shinu yelled. Bakura skidded in the sand a turned around.  
  
"And what would you know of it, /Mae/?! You were probably the one who planned this!"  
  
"Even if she did, she wouldn't have told you to wait if there was some kind of trap! And think about it. Marik is using Ryou as bait." Yuugi gulped back tears of his own. "He /wants/ you to rush in without your wits about you. Please think rationally!" he begged. He didn't want anyone else to be hurt if it wasn't necessary.  
  
Bakura glowered but stayed where he was.  
  
"I can help you, Bakura." Shinu said nearly threateningly. "But if you chose to ignore me and go for your little suicide run, be my guest."  
  
"Why are you helping me?" Bakura whispered dangerously. "You have no reason to protect me, and don't try to think you've forgotten or put it behind you. I know you're not that type, Mae." His arms were being suppressed to his sides for fear if he let them have their way, they would end up ripping out large chunks of hair.  
  
"Because I care." Both Yuugi and Bakura stared quizzically at her. "I care if you get your head blown off, or whatever Marik was going to do with you! I care if the one thing you seem to care for more than the dirt we walk on is hurt! I want to help because I care, damnit!" Bakura fell into a shameful silence. "And maybe I've haven't forgotten, but I'm trying /real/ hard to!" Her cheeks had turned bright red.  
  
Now Yuugi was confused; to an extreme. First she was acting like a spaz, then she bore her tiger fangs. Now she was showing compassion. This was all making his head spin. What was she like, really?! Then his thoughts somehow trailed to Marik. And Marik meant Ryou. He bit his lip hard, deciding what to say to break the awkward silence between his two companions. Time was not something they had to gamble.  
  
"Mae-san, Bakura-kun." Yuugi turned to each as he spoke their names. They glared back and he knew he was desperately trying to find something to say to them. "We should get going. Knowing Marik, who is completely unstable, we have to move in soon." Whether reluctant or not, both incarnations agreed with Yuugi's point.  
  
"Well, Mae. If you're so adamant in helping us, what's waiting for us inside?" Bakura stood completely still.  
  
She sighed and ran her fingers through her naturally highlighted hair. "Hey, don't ask me. I didn't plan this out. Look, I was supposed to be the one to kidnap Ryou and lure you, Bakura, in. Aside from that, Marik was going to play the part of the friend and bring you here. But we uh, ran into some complications and that could no longer be carried out like so." Bakura's hair bristled. "So, quite simply, we switched roles. I got you here and Marik is inside, with Ryou, and setting the traps. So really, I have no idea what's going to happen."  
  
"Then our best bet is me." Bakura snorted and smirked at Shinu. "Your friendly neighborhood tomb robber." She gnawed on her lip, remembering the note that led to her and Bakura's first meeting.  
  
"After you, then." Yuugi beckoned to the crumbling stairwell, egar to get moving. The over towering arc above the entranceway had the right eye of Horus watching everything the came in and left its thresholds.  
  
And so, with Bakura in the lead and Shinu and Yuugi following quickly, solemnly, they entered Yami's tomb.

* * *

Me: . wow...that took me forever to write! First I had to make this little chart thingy concerning all seven of Shinu's lives (yes, 7!). Then I had to keep referring back to older chapters for certain things, (dunno if you noticed all the careful detail in here), but the thing was, I kept loosing myself! As in, if I were looking for say, when Mae and Marik met in the Shadow Realm the second time, I wouldn't know what chapter I should look in. So then I ended up basically re-reading most of chapters five through to this one! Ah!  
  
'Leanne: well that was certainly a mouthful...  
  
Me: :P  
  
chibi Shinu: =D r/r mina! Ja! 


	15. From the Other Side

* * *

Me: well, believe it or not, I did start this chapter as I finished the 10th chapter of Kept In The Dark, whether that reflected on this update or not (my Dad just moved, so I had a lot of things I had to do that apparently came before continuing to write. Humm... 

'Leanne: if you say so...

Me: (puffy pouty face) what, you don't believe me??

'Leanne: oh no! I believe in you totally, Erin-chan! It's those guys over there that don't! ) (points to mob of angry reviewers)

Me: ahhh!!!! (panics and runs away in fear)

Warning: (once again sees Erin-chan running out of her room and follows) now what?

Me: (out of breath) huff...angry mob...puff puff...(takes deep breath) but I will prevail! (pounds chest) I have a message for this chapter! Bring it on!!

Warning: ':/ sometimes I seriously worry about that girl... (shakes head) well, like always, no yaoi, but shonen-ai is the nature of the story.

Disclaimer: (huffs) no own Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, only O.C.s and plotline.

* * *

Yami was sitting rigidly in the chair Kaiba's freakish butler had told him to stay in while he was waiting for Kaiba-san to emerge from his meeting. All in all, the pharaoh was not in the least bit happy. And he was also quite sure that whomever was meeting with Kaiba had previously known of him and his dire need, and was /deliberately/ keeping Kaiba from as long as he possibly could, and- 

The intricate wooden door swung open, with a steaming CEO standing in it. You could almost see the flames engulfing him.

This happened to catch Yami's attention from thinking about conspiracies. "Uhh, Kaiba-san... I-I thought you were in..a..meeting.?" For the first time since his re-birth from the Sennen Puzzle, Yami was genuinely scared out of his wits.

"What's it to you?!" Now you really could see the flames burning in his eyes. Or was that a pile of paper on his desk? "I'm /this/ close to snapping, Yuugi!" He held up his fingers to demonstrate the sliver of sanity he had left. "It had better be good..."

Being called Yuugi again let Yami (theoretically) come back down to Earth and reminded him of his purpose in the first place. "Umm, you see...Kaiba-san, that is..."

"God damnit! I don't have time for crap! Spit it out or leave right now!"

"Well, I need a ride on one of your planes to Egypt."

Pause.

Kaiba was suppressing a chuckle before he asked why he would willingly give such a thing to anyone, much less his archrival.

In trying to come up with an answer, Yami did think of threatening to send Mokuba's mind to the Shadow Realm, but figured Kaiba would kill him long before he even got to lock onto Mokuba's life force. Eh, one idea out the window... So I guess that's how he decided to just go the simpler route and tell him the truth. Just really fast.

"Um, IgotthisweirdfeelingwhenmeandYuugi'sgrandfatherwereplayingGoandnowIhavetogotoEgypt'causeIthinkhe'sintrouble!" He stood uniformly at a standstill, making sure Kaiba-san wasn't about to chuck him out a window, or something equally damaging to his well being.

This, however, had quite the opposite effect. Kaiba Seto had just gotten off the phone with one of his annoyingly persistent managers of Kaiba Corp. informing him of several stuffy meetings he was to attend. Seto, being his mood-swingy self, decided he needed to find a reason, no matter how insignificant, to get away from his work-related duties. And then there was Yuugi (Yami), standing in front of him, wanting to go on a long-term trip to Egypt. Who said miracles don't happen on the spot?

"We leave yesterday, then." Yami blinked and stopped cringing. "Just don't bug me." Yami smiled. "And you owe me a re-match, damnit!" No reason to look /completely/ virtuous.

From there, Kaiba threw a couple of his favourite jackets into a suitcase and they both boarded immediately (the jets were kept in his back garage). Now there fell an awkward silence over the entire plane and its whole two passengers plus pilot.

Yami decided to be brave and break the limb-and-mouth-binding tempo. "So, umm, considering there's a pretty long, non-stop flight to Egypt with nothing in particular to do, you want to duel now?"

Kaiba smiled an evil smile.

* * *

Back inside the pyramid of ancient Pharaoh Atemu, our group of ruin explorers had become tired and suspicious. After all, they had been walking for a good four hours now, with nothing really as a set direction, with the exception of Shinu's word. 

"Mae-san, are you sure you know where Marik went?" Yuugi mumbled. Especially with his unnaturally short legs, he tended to lag behind and wouldn't be able see even if there were a solid wall of dead corpses(1) blocking their path.

She turned back warily to look Yuugi in his eyes. "If I didn't then I'm sure Bakura would be sniffing around, trying to find his own way through."

Up until that particular moment, they had both forgotten completely about their third companion. So provoked the "Bakura!" Yuugi and Mae shouted in unison. Because the ex-tomb raider wasn't in sight behind or in front of them, they took off sprinting ahead. "Bakura! Where are you?! If you can hear us, please shout back!" Yuugi gasped. Hey, running and yelling at the same time is hard for a little kid. Even if you're supposed to be in high school.

Shinu turned to scowl at the pipsqueak of a boy. "That's no way to get anyone's attention. Watch and learn." She stopped for second. "BAKURA!! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!!!" And then she went to catch up with Yuugi (who didn't bother waiting for her).

The random shouts easily reached Bakura, whom was indeed very far ahead, because of the long and echoing halls. In fact, Mae's voice was not only brought to his ears, but was /amplified/ by the pyramid. So this sent Bakura sailing through the air, for he had been breaking world records running and tripped when he heard her.

"Arg!! I hear you, already!" And he sat, and waited uneasy in the dark for the rest of his companions, eager to get moving again.

* * *

Now Malik had been hunched over sitting in the sand, thinking over all his options and pros and cons for each one. For example, if he went after Bakura, Ryou, Yuugi and that other girl, then he did run the chance of meeting up with Marik while he was searching for them. Plus, they had gone in quite a while ago, meaning he might also get lost himself in the pyramid and never find them, anyway. But if he stayed here, sitting in the scalding sand, then he would probably get a nasty sunburn, despite his Egyptian skin. If he went home, he could call that turbaned man for council, but that would take precious time. 

But since this one didn't have any side affects that would alter his beating heart, he decided to go with meeting up with this guy. Who knew? Maybe he could even help Malik get rid of a few 'problems'.

Dragging his sorry butt from the desert, the Egyptian boy made his way back to his sister's and his' home. He made it through the marketplace, retracing his steps, without being stalled, so he made it home in relatively one solid piece. Though he did pass by that kid and the goggles again.

But when he got to his door, not only did it open before he could touch the handle, but a tall, turbaned man in a robe was the one who opened it for him.

When Yuugi and Shinu had finally caught up to Bakura, they were at a loss for immediate words. After all, he was glowing a slight blue, the Sennen Ring was hovering just above his chest, and there were five duel monster cards floating around his head.

"Umm...Baku-" started Yuugi.

"Look at these cards." He started.

Though Shinu knew that perhaps Marik would have stopped Bakura from gathering meaning from his would-be tarot reading, she was curious, and besides, it wasn't like Marik owned her or anything. So the two knelt down beside Bakura on either side of him and watched closely and silently as he explained what the cards meant.

"This one here," he pointed to the first card to the left. "The 'Possessed Dark Soul' card. That's my Egyptian past. It's symbolizing my lust for revenge and Zork Necrofidasu(2); the course I took. And here," he ran his fingers over to the next card to the right. "Monster Reborn. That would be both my returning from the grave and turning personalities because of Ryou. But they're not what I'm worried about, nor are they important parts of my reading." He took both in between his forefinger and put them to rest with the remainder of his occult deck.

"Now look at these," The next card was to the bottom right of Monster Reborn. "This is my 'present'; Destiny Board." Shinu gasped. Because of course, she had learnt of the Tarot, and adapted versions like this one. To get Destiny Board as your present... "-is to face the biggest change in your life. I know." Bakura finished her thought. "But see the next one? It's Change of Heart. I'll come out of it one way or the other, but I still might be changed; for better or worse. And this last one." This card didn't follow the order of the line, for it was above all the rest, and looked out of the way. "I delt an extra card, because I wanted to get some answers to a question I've had for a while." He smiled. It was the Lady of Faith. "'I should hold onto what I think right now, no matter what.' That's what it's telling me. So I'll go with you as far as you want in this labyrinth of a pyramid, Mae." He collected the remaining cards, stood up, and motioned for the others to follow suit. "Lead the way, O fearless leader."

This took her totally off-guard. He really /did/ trust her, didn't he? But the girl with copper-metallic hair stood up anyway, and pointed them in the direction of the King's Chamber. "It'll be a couple more hours of navigating until we get there. But I'm sure Marik wouldn't have picked any other place."

Bakura walked without engaging himself in the several short conversations between Mae and Yuugi. Instead, he had his hands jammed so far deep in his pockets of his jean jacket that they were nearly up to his elbows. But he made sure to keep Change of Heart safely in his hand.

And he remembered back to when Ryou told him that it was his very favourite card. That was a week after Bakura re-entered the material world once more and became curious of the cards his host sometimes would play with. They resembled the monsters of old so much, he just had to learn about these new creature-cards. Ryou had gladly taught him how to play, even if Bakura had only known broken Japanese.

They reached another hidden passage that Shinu opened with ease. This new passage they walked on was lined with torches, enchanted to hold light through all the ages, until The Wrath of the Nile took the walls of the tomb to it's riverbed. But Bakura could also see tiny inscriptions, like to the one he had seen on the exterior bricks.

'I'll be there soon, Ryou.'

* * *

Malik had told his thoughts and last few days over to the man whom had revealed himself as Shadi. He had sat patiently through all of this, at the request of his younger company, and was very much troubled by what he heard. 

"If what you say is indeed the truth, then I am sorry to say we have a grave situation on our hands. The girl you previously mentioned; her name is Mae Shinu. Recall your Japanese, friend. You know what it means. Take it not lightly, for it is also truth." Shadi stood up and told Malik to follow him.

"We must make haste to Pharaoh Atemu's tomb, before your split self takes them for his. Hurry, Malik."

He obeyed without hesitation, because this man, being the bearer of the Sennen Ankh and Scales, had power to take them both to Bakura and Ryou's immediate aid, no snags attached. Like changing genders without warning when wet. Bad side-effects like that.

But as he rose from the seat he had taken, Shadi did not take them to the pyramid where his friends were. In fact, he had just erected a barrier around Malik's home so he could not exit. When he saw this, rage surfaced in his face.

Malik clenched his fists tightly. "But why?! You, you were going to-"

"I must, above all things, abide to my ancient calling; protecting the flow of destiny. I cannot have you stopping whatever may happen, though I do regret telling you, if it provoked this behaviour. Listen to your own purpose of the tomb keepers, Malik! The purpose of your father! I leave you now, though know that the barrier will dissipate when it is all over!" Before he received an opinion from the dumbstruck Egyptian home captive, Shadi disappeared into the heat mirages rising from the floor.

"BASTARD!! Get! Get, back..here..." and Malik fell into a deep sleep of exhaustion.

* * *

A foreboding light penetrated Ryou's eyelids and arose him from his deep slumber. Groaning, he began to take in more of what surrounded him. And, more importantly, why he could feel cords digging into his burning wrists. 

"Welcome to Pharaoh Atemu's Chamber. The heart of the pyramid." Marik's cool voice could easily be heard in the closed off room. He happened to be standing right behind his hostage, which scared Ryou even more.

"Wh, what?!" The albino boy let out a sharp yelp as Marik snapped the wires holding him to his platform.

Malik's split chuckled sadistically. "How do you like lying on top of a sarcophagus? One that still may very well contain a three-thousand year old Pharaoh?"

Now that he had regained all of his working senses again, Ryou was literally frozen in fear. His father had told him long and gruesome stories of people whom had recklessly degraded the King's Chamber and had been slaughtered by Anubis. 'It could be possible...Think of everything that has happened so far...' he thought. The magick of the pyramid was working its way into his mind.

His wrists, neck, thighs, ankles and abdomen had been strapped down with steel wires that were cutting into his flesh, and nailed to the ancient coffin's perimeter. Blood was dripping out of his mouth, and trickling down his raw thought; choking him.

"I guess we'll have to wait until your friends get here to eradicate you..."

Ryou whimpered.

* * *

Now that they were only about half an hour from the King's Chamber, arrayed thoughts began to surface on their minds. 

"Mae-san, you said that you'd never been inside a pyramid before. How do you know the way?" Yuugi questioned. This awkward inquiry forced Mae to think fast if she wanted to carry through without doubt.

"Umm, well I used to study ancient burial techniques through out the ages last lifetime, Yuugi! Yeah, and the pyramids were particularly interesting; y'know..all those traps and gods..." This seemed to satisfy the hikari among them, but Bakura didn't buy it. Now that this had been called to his attention, he was starting to wonder himself. But, regardless, he kept to his reading and kept walking in silence, still eager to get to Ryou before Marik did.

But now that Shinu knew that they might catch on soon, she stayed quiet for a while. And that's about when she began to fade in and out of consciousness; though still leading them the right way. If anything, her feet knew where to go next.

So it went on like this, until she was completely out of control of her physical body, and was seeing the corridors from outside of her body. Almost like her soul had been ripped painlessly from her body.

(Shinu... )

'Eh? who's there?!' her shadow self shouted, not noticing that neither Yuugi nor Bakura knew she wasn't really there.

(I know you haven't forgotten about me yet... You think of then too often for memories missing... )

'You...it can't be! No! I won't listen! You're...you're gone, from my life.' Now she was positive it must be Jemkae's voice. But, he refused eternal life a long time ago...there was no way he could come back...

(Follow your heart, Shinu. Believe in what's right, not vengeance. Think why. )

Why? What did he mean, why!? This was her only chance to get back at Bakura... She couldn't just throw this chance away...

(Lead them away from here. They mustn't become part of the Turning! Lead them away! )

And just like it never occurred, Mae was back in her material body. The questioned surfaced again. Why did she seem to only live for taking what was taken from her? What had Bakura actually done? She knew it was something or other, but it was like only a shard of the memory had remained with her through out the ages.

But she knew what she had to do know. Jemkae was right. And if she couldn't even remember what it was that he had done, then it wasn't worth taking his other away from him.

"Oh! Is that the King's Chamber ahead, Mae-san?" Yuugi pointed to an elaborate double door set right ahead of them. And know Bakura was closely following her body language, and trying to read what she would do next. Because, as any Egyptian thief knows, there is always a decoy for the King's Chamber. After all, that's where the real treasure lies.

Shinu stalled. If she led them through the door up ahead, she knew exactly how to escape the tomb without traps in their way. But she also knew that Bakura would know exactly what she was doing, and stay behind for Ryou.

"No, it's just up a little further, past the last torch."

* * *

Me: omg, that took /forever/ to write! X( Just because we moved and went on a month long vacation.. Yes, I know. Excuses, excuses.. :P 

'Leanne: (1) dead corpses is an inside joke. (i.e. we were playing Balderdash and I was trying to explain one of the words as: a natural bacteria that grows on dead corpses. Kind of a contradiction, as corpses tend to be dead.. / )

Bakura: (2) Zork Necrosfidasu is Akunadin's split person type thing. Think Malik and Marik scenario. (AkunadinPegasus's incarnation in the Egyptian Saga, and the mastermind behind the Sennen Items) I was basically his vassal.

Chibi me: Ja ne, mina! R/R! (promise to have the next chapter of Kept in the Dark out asap!)


	16. The Final Whisper

Me: wow! Awesome! Amazing! If you don't know why I'm so hyped, you should probably go back a couple of chapters to the author's note there, and you'll find that this is, yes, the moment you've all been waiting for...the last chapter!!!! XD Sugoi, ne?!

Shinu: wait, you mean that this will be the last time I make a public appearance? (considering I never /did/ get that part in Kept in the Dark...) nooo!!

Me: '-' um, maybe... (shifty eyes) eh heh...

Shinu: no way! You suck! Die, die!!! (gets out Bakura's faithful flamethrower and chases Erin-chan around the room)

Me: ahhh! XC (gets out yami's faithful katana) hya! Take me on melee style!! C'mon!

Shinu and Me: (condenses into a wild dust cloud with random limbs sticking out, a flame or two here and there, sometimes a sword or scream)

Everyone else in Erin-chan's room: (gargantuan sweatdrop)

'Leanne: all righty then... Ah! (smacks fist in palm) Guess what my hikari just (finally) received?! The Gravitation Best Collection Soundtrack!! Yeah!!! XD XD It took nearly three weeks to get here because we got it over EBay, and the seller lived in the United States... :P Yeah! Shuichi and Ryuichi have so many awesome songs! :D Just got the 8th issue of same-said manga, too! XD I'm serious, everything is going my way!

Me: (sends 'Leanne evil glare) You do know both of those are mine, correct?

'Leanne: :P yeah, yeah...

Warning: well! Anyways, since the fic does have to get along eventually, because this will be an immensely long chapter in order to tie everything up, and Erin-chan feels like she owes the readers for not updating for so long... (rolls eyes) So! Probably violence. Ooo, scary. Yaoi! No, actually Erin-chan would like for this story /not/ to be deleted. Sorry any hentai fans, but none here... Oh yes...and character death. Ehe he he... (spoiler! spoiler!)

Disclaimer: Ah hah hah hah!! Finally! This parody of Yu-Gi-Oh! will finally be over! Muah ha ha! I prevail!! XD Nyah ha ha, and she still doesn't own anime! Ah ha ha ha!!

Warning: (vein pok) (knocks out the Disclaimer with Frying Pan Of Doom)

* * *

"No, it's just up a little further, past the last torch." 

Now that they were in the very heart of the ancient burial site, its magick was growing to its climax. The mind-effecting enchantments had not yet reached Bakura, nor Yuugi, and Mae had previously put up mental barriers. But its aura alone was creating waves; pulses that they could all feel run through their heart. Physically, it was creating somewhat of a draft, and Shinu and Bakura's long hair started to float around.

When all had reached the final everlasting torch, Shinu slowed down and rested her cold hand on the even colder sandstone.

She took a deep breath. Now was the time to spill everything.

"Bakura, Yuugi-kun. I think there's something else I may have to tell you before we open the last door." Bakura glowered. He knew it! This was all a trap, despite Shinu's little 'confession' thing- "No, well...it was." Shinu had interrupted his thought. "You see, Marik and I-"

Yuugi jumped. "So you really were in a real alliance with him?! Mae-san!"

The interruptions were beginning to bother her. "Look, twerp. If you want to walk in there, without knowing what may jump out at you, be my guest. However, if you'd like to save your puny self, I suggest you listen."

He gulped, but shut up anyway.

Mae started with a detailed past concerning the first years in Egypt, for Yuugi's sake. She told of the note, and the cave. The raids, then finally, Bakura's betrayal. Shinu only mentioned this in passing, though, because she had temporarily forgotten what it was exactly, and she hated sounding dumb.

After explaining the first formation of their plan, which was both juvenile and sketchy, it came to the point in time when Bakura had gone and got himself sealed into a Sennen item; totally unexpected by anyone. The priest and Pharaoh, Bakura, Shinu and Marik...

But that had also triggered the start of a long and detailed process: The Turning.

Now, no one was very clear on what this 'Turning' thing was, but everyone that acknowledged its coming, feared it in some way. These particular people, though, had not included Bakura. He was, after all, the beginning of it.

What little is known, was that it had unravelled the very second the first soul was sealed away, and wouldn't stop until the last soul had been returned. To its original body, that is. Or at least a shadow of whom they used to be. That meant that every reincarnation would be permanently pushed out of control of their own bodies, and the incarnations would take over, permanently.

When Shinu finished her speech, both Bakura and Yuugi were equally mortified. After all, they would both be affected in the end.

"Well...how do we stop it? When will it happen? Why..." Yuugi was choking up. "Why did it start in the first place?!"

Mae just shrugged. She had told them everything that she knew. There was no turning back for her now.

"It will never end, Yuugi." Bakura said dangerously softly. "Mae has been reincarnated so many times, and she would have to be returned to all of her previous bodies. Unfortunately-" he growled. "This isn't possible because for it to stop, she would have to be in all of her bodies at once."

This twist had also dawned on the subject. "And that, in itself is impossible because if I went from one body to the next, even if they all still existed, it would require reincarnation into it."

Then the most unsuspecting idea came to the least expected person.

"Mae...." Yuugi had an unusually dark tone interlaced with his voice. "If your soul wasn't intact, then this thing wouldn't have a soul to replace anyway, right?"

He was implying that if Shinu destroyed her very soul, it would put a halt to the seemingly endless cycle.

"Yes, Yuugi. That's correct." Mae had her face shadowed again. No one would want to tear their soul apart for any reason, but the guilt slowly being dumped on her head was increasing rapidly.

"We should head into the King's Chamber. We've been stalling for too long now." Bakura stated. And it was true. Marik could have completed any number of nasties on his hikari.

They nodded their agreement, and the door opened itself silently, as if it had listened to everything they had said, and was permitting them to continue through its corridors.

)--(

"Dark Magick Attack! Ah ha ha, want to go for best twenty-six out of fifty-one, Kaiba?" Now Yami was just rubbing it in. He had whipped Seto so many times in a row; it was becoming more amusing than challenging.

"You just wait until I get a hold of my spares, Yuugi! And I /will/ win next time!" Kaiba found himself on the floor of his jet, spurting random and very flimsy excuses of why he didn't win. Yami just shrugged innocently, and finally noticed that they were currently flying over his, and philosophically Kaiba's, homeland: Cairo, Egypt.

The plane came to a standstill, and the both of them stepped out into the infamous Egyptian heat. Yami was stunned at the sight of his mortal birthplace changed so much; yet kept his mouth shut and pride upheld.

They left the runway and headed into the same foyer Yuugi-tachi had arrived in. What first met their eyes however, was not what the former group had seen.

There were two Japanese girls sitting on a bench, one of which Yami thought he recognized from Yuugi's science class, playing duel monsters.

"Ah ha ha! Remove two monsters: Royal Magical Library and Skull Knight #2 from play to special summon Chaos Sorcerer!! Muah ha ha! Feel my wrath..." So said the one that Yami didn't know.

"Oh yeah? Activate Needle Ceiling in response! There, I killed your Chaos Sorcerer along with your measly Big Eye and Archfiend soldier!"

"Perhaps, but you killed your Guardian Angel Joan. Nyah..." The Chaos Sorcerer's master pulled on her eyelid. The one from his hikari's class was looking through her hand. There was no way Yami could have resisted this on his life.

In fact, the ex-pharaoh walked right up to the pair and surveyed the field. "Hey there. You duellists?"

The schoolgirl looked up. "Yeah. You Japanese? Wait a sec..you're from my class, aren't you. What are you doing in Egypt, Yuugi?" Now Yami noticed she was wearing an off-white trench coat, pitch-black leggings over which was very short, well, shorts. Plus many chains, a crimson shirt, black fingerless gloves, some bracelets, etc... The other one was wearing sleeves attached to naught but her bare arms, a black shirt with a pink triangle v-neck, and jeans adorned also with many chains. Both of them had their hair cropped short and shaved in the back.

Yami answered her question with a bit of avoidance, deliberately tip-toeing away from a long conversation because he had noticed Kaiba getting impatient.

"Well, whenever you get back, then. See ya later, Yuugi!" He sweatdropped. Why was it that no one noticed the difference between them? Like, it was as clear as night and day! Yami sighed. Oh well.

When the shorter one shuffled back over to his partner for the time being, the look Kaiba gave him was physically painful. "Let's find us some hotel to spend the night in. I'm generally opposed to sleep in an airport, Yuugi," in his usual icy tone.

)--(

Walking through the door to the King's Chamber was taking a bit longer than expected. It apparently had a twisting hall that spun back and forth, but eventually ended abruptly.

Marik was the first one to notice he presence of the others. The presence of Shinu: his careless accomplice. Or so he thought anyway.

"Nice of you to pop in, Bakura. Like the decor I chose? Ryou is a very pretty centerpiece, if I do say so myself." Now it was the aforementioned yami to notice the other's stature leaning over the bloody boy. And no, he was not happy in the very least.

As soon as Ryou had heard Marik start talking to who seemed to be Bakura, he attempted to attract his attention by yelling. Unfortunately he had forgotten that the barbed wire around his neck had flooded his throat with blood, and instead, violently hacked up a good amount of the viscous fluid. Tears had found their way down his cheeks once again.

Yuugi and Mae were at a loss for words, and stepped aside when Bakura barged in ahead of them, rushing to his light's aid.

"Shit... Ryou!" The albino thief collapsed to his knees and immediately grasped his love's tied-down hand tightly in his own.

Marik, being the bastard he is, growled in repulsion. "Are you going to squat there all day, Bakura?"

The pharaoh's incarnation tried to go to his crippled friend's side as well, but Shinu held him back. "Now is not the time, Yuugi," she whispered.

"Was that a challenge..?" Bakura had his eyes shadowed and rose to his feet, much to the malcontent of Ryou. "Are you seriously standing there, arms slack, eyes watching this all with sadistic delight, challenging ME to a fight?" His husky voice was dangerously low, as if warning Marik to high tail it before Bakura had the chance to advance on his sorry ass.

"You...are you saying that I _shouldn't_? What do I have to be afraid of? A lover that can't even stop his hikari from being tied down like a rag doll?"

But this really did have the opposite effect intended. Bakura being Bakura, ignored this accusation with complete professionalism and took a step closer to his newest victim. Did he say six pieces before? Better make that twenty.

From Shinu's perspective, however, this was an entirely different situation. For one thing she, unlike Bakura, knew he wasn't invincible. Marik was a huge threat, especially if he had mastered the art of Shadow Magick, which it seemed so from his earlier performance concerning his astral projection. The most deadly assault available to Magickers: a wave of pure negative energy. And Marik's energy was pretty much completely negative, considering he was his host's rage bottled up and turned physical. That made Marik basically the incarnation of chaos and anger. Great...

And that's about when she noticed Marik glowing a somewhat suppressed purple.

"Bakura! Look out!" Mae knew her cry was futile; Bakura was too full of blinding rage that he probably didn't even hear her. Yuugi got pushed to the side as she dashed through, attempting to make it in time before he got a chance to fire his blast.

Both of the hikaris were finally getting the effects of the ancient pyramid's magick. Their minds had stopped functioning completely, and general perception of everything that was happening around them was dropping dramatically. Yuugi had fallen to the ground. Not really by Shinu's push, but only really by a lack of self-preservation. Ryou, on the other hand, had fallen into a deep subconscious trance.

By the time Bakura was to the point where he was close enough to touch Marik, the latter had finished gathering energy and sprung back. Shinu backed up from her sprint to face both of them.

They were all in neutral positions at the moment. Calming himself only to the slightest degree, Bakura foolishly took the first action, and immediately suffered for it. He had dove down to about half his height and took light, but rapid bounds over to Marik, though just slower than needed.

Marik had anticipated his move long before Bakura had even thought of it.

Shooting his knee up to block, he rammed his elbow down hard into the robber's spine, partially paralyzing him for a moment's worth, as well as drawing a harsh cry. Specks of blood flew out of the attacker's mouth.

Shinu jumped forwards with the intent of distracting Marik from firing his charged energy this early. Nailing him in his temple with a strike using her forearm, Shinu successfully took him down for one hit.

Marik sprawled back, and quickly sat up using merely his abdomen. "Mae!! You betray me not once, but twice in succession?!" He had to make his culminating move soon. Mae had studied more than just martial arts in her various lifetimes.

The stricken albino groaned and pushed himself up, regaining his heightened awareness. What he saw was Shinu standing over Marik's fallen form, and the latter aiming a translucent purple hand at him. What was worse, Bakura knew that there was no way he could move out of the way, much less out of Marik's total range. This had already come down to an instant-death predicament.

As the ray left Marik's hand, Shinu noticing it, Bakura crushing his eyes closed and murmuring pleas, something very different was going on in the world of Ryou. His mind was relapsing from his whiteout and as he opened his eyes, Ryou found himself in a peculiar situation.

The area around him was acting in slow motion; his limbs were filled with pure positive energy as well as strength. Enough actually, to lift him up off of the sarcophagus and snap the wires as he did so, though slowly. His wounds, old and recent alike, were emitting a searing white glow; everything properly healed. Ryou found his mind to be unaffected by the slow pace at which everything was moving.

The fastest thing moving was the shot of energy, next Mae-san trying to block it, and last, Ryou's own yami.

Whether or not it was realized by anyone else, the white-haired reincarnation summoned enough stable spiritual energy and let fly towards Mae-san. It was almost instinctual, like he had been doing it all his life. There really wasn't much of a choice, anyhow. If he wanted his yami to pull through, that is. However, expending his one chance for energy projection, the world returned to its normal pace.

Shinu had no idea what exactly hit her, but wasn't complaining much. Whatever it was, it had given her a guided push in the way of Marik's speeding bullet in time to hit in the crossfire.

When the negative energy hit her, it instantaneously, painfully and permanently ripped the very soul from her living body. Well, what was living at one point.

The shattering scream echoed through the infinite halls, and would remain there for anyone to come into this same pyramid. Her spirit had been pulled through not only her chest, but was fed to the increasingly powerful wave through every available opening. Through her mouth, under her skin, from the very core of her heart.

Neither Marik, Bakura nor Ryou had the slightest idea of what had happened to her, and could only watch, frozen to their posts.

Once Mae Shinu's soul was completely removed and torn apart, the remainder of the ray Marik had fired came to a paused stop, and another pulsing wave came to meet the remaining conscious people. Its message went something like this:

_Whether waking or not, everyone here has committed a piece towards the ending of The Turning. It will not end here, do not forget. None but the souls forgotten by the afterlife or Osiris may end it forever..._

The voice had belonged to Jemkae, yet no one had known, nor had they recognized it; for the only soul left to, left them not a minute ago, and her body had slowly started to dissipate.

As the binding voice had left them stunned, the negative blast flew back to collide with the one whom had instigated it. Marik had no time but to widen his eyes in the first fear he had known. His body shattered upon contact, and he wasn't seen after that moment.

"Nuh..." Yuugi groaned and fluttered his eyes open. What the hell had happened just now...? All he could remember was seeing Ryou tied on top of a sarcophagus and not much afterwards... But what he saw now was neither Marik nor Mae-san, Bakura panting heavily on the ground and Ryou sitting upright on his former prison; wires snapped. "Ryou?"

The young savoir was shook quickly out of shock when he heard his name being called. "Yuugi?! Yuugi! It's..you..you're all..." No further words were necessary because Bakura had just pushed himself up off his stomach and shuffled over to his hikari, grasping his waist with a crushing hug. Yuugi stumbled over to the both of them and fell into the embrace. Not one of them could have managed to piece together a coherent sentence, so they didn't attempt at all. None was needed.

When they were all reassured that hopefully nothing more would happen for the time being, the question of how they were going to get out rose. The hikari-tachi talked it over, while Bakura remained painfully silent, although he had detached himself from Ryou.

Yuugi came to the conclusion that since Shinu had given up her very soul to save them, they should probably search around. After all, Marik wouldn't have left himself in the pyramid without a retreat. Nor would Mae have. All this equals, there had to be some way out of there.

"Check the inside." Bakura nearly whispered.

"What?" Yuugi looked up. It was the first time Bakura had spoken to another since Marik challenged him.

"The inside. Check inside the sarcophagus."

Ryou, being the closest to the object in question barely flinched when he pulled the lid off of the chamber. What it held seemed to surprise both the reincarnations, but Bakura acted like he knew it was there all along. It was a tear in reality. Don't ask how they all knew this, but knowing what it happened to be seemed like they also knew it was in existence their entire life.

"We should go now, then. No sense hanging around here to anger any random Egyptian Gods." Ryou had meant it to be a loose joke, but no one smiled or laughed as they climbed through.

)--(

It was late evening when the Egyptian native finally stirred from his deep sleep. He had been dreaming about his sister. When was she going to get back from that museum tour, anyway? Swiftly gaining consciousness, the blonde subconsciously hoped that it was perhaps her that had woken him up.

Malik blinked the grogginess out of his eyes and found himself in the same position as Shadi had left him in.

Sighing deeply, the boy tried to remember what exactly he was doing prior to...oh yeah. That's right; Shadi had trapped him here instead of helping him find his friends.

Typical.

Didn't he say something about 're-awakening' and some barrier dispersing after it was all over?

"Shit! I have to hurry if I plan to catch anything at all!" Malik didn't seem to mind that he was talking to himself. No one else could listen anyway.

Springing up off of the couch on which he had collapsed on, Malik ran out of the house unhindered, and retraced his path to where he had last remembered seeing them. Once there, and he had gotten to the very front of the pyramid they had disappeared into (or at least, he thought so), Malik felt quite odd. Looking around, it looked like any other tourist area to him. No odd disturbances, no scorch marks to mark the remains of a fight. Nothing at all.

"May I help you, sir?" A tall, Arabic man addressed the boy from his thoughts. "Are you here for the tour?"

Malik just turned around slowly, blankly staring in front of him. They were beyond his reach, and, for the first time in his life, it struck him. Hard.

Nothing really mattered anymore. His fruitless antics to save his friends; they were all in vain. He really was totally out of control.

The Arabic guy shrugged and walked off. It was too bad, because this is what provoked the undoing of Malik.

The young 'lighter half' glared darkly at his retreating back. Without a real thought, the sand around the man's feet began to dissolve, and transformed into an alligator's mighty jaw; swallowing him whole.

One girl had unfortunately turned around, looking for her late friend, just in time to witness the supernatural event. She couldn't help it; she let free a shriek, alarming the surrounding persons, and letting Malik know that he did not go unnoticed.

Panic spread, the man's remains only consisting of a splatter of bright red blood. Blood right from the heart, due to its colouration. Malik stood with his pupils shaded as if possessed by something higher than himself, and indeed, maybe that could explain his outburst.

People were running everywhere. Malik did nothing despite turning to look at everyone, no matter the distance away. His demon had given him a hawk's eye.

More screams...more death... He smirked. None of these people mattered. None of it mattered. Might as well end all of their suffering, as he had suffered. One by one, each was swallowed by the desert's merciless jaws.

)--(

When Ryou, Yuugi and Bakura had reached the other side of the portal they had 'discovered', they found themselves where they had originally disappeared, but also in the centre of panicking people.

The albino thief sprung to, not wanting to be caught off-guard again, pulling all of them back into the sanctuary of the pyramid's afternoon shadow.

"Bakura-what?" Yuugi stuttered, only to be shushed by the former's callused hand.

"Be quiet," he hissed, "and don't move." He stared sternly at the frightened hikari-tachi before taking off in the opposite direction everyone was fleeing from.

Bakura wondered to himself why things always tend to get worse at the least convenient moment. Rounding the corner, he came to a sudden, startled halt. Bakura saw Malik, for the first time since last year, leering at random people, somehow commanding the sand to engulf them, much like the sand had swallowed Shinu and the others, including himself.

Not thinking, Bakura verbalized his surprise a bit too loudly, making a pause in the Egyptian's rein of death.

Marik's creator spun around leisurely, as if time somehow didn't matter.

"So, you've finally come to see how your old /friend/ is doing, eh?" Bakura visibly flinched. Malik's voice was replaced with what was an odd hybrid of both his and Marik's. "We haven't seen each other for such a long, long time..." and he took a step closer, threateningly.

"You..." Bakura backed away. Even his eyes...they were glazed...like he was possessed. But that couldn't be it. Marik had been destroyed. Bakura had seen it. Marik was dead...

As if he could read his albino friend's thoughts, Malik smirked. "I thought something happened to the bastard. Good." This time, he stood perfectly still, with the exception of his left arm. "I had suffered him for too long now...much too long..." His arm was rising inch-by-inch, straight up towards the sky. "But for now...I will end your suffering. Everyone's suffering..."

The sand underneath Bakura's feet began to tremble, and the Thief King immediately sprung up and over, remembering what he had seen before.

And, true to his fear, it had shaped into a gargantuan fanged mouth, and snapped back, biting air.

Bakura was forced to keep jumping around to avoid similar traps. If he tried to get closer to Malik, things just got worse. Apparently his power was stronger, closer.

'Arg..think, Bakura! Think..you've gotten yourself out of much worse than this before...' Yeah, when he happened to still have his ka, Diabandou... 'Okay, then...what the hell happened to him then, to send him insane...' Bakura was finding it difficult to keep up with the jaws of sand and think clearly at the same time.

Again, it was like Malik could see what he was thinking. "Marik died, of course." He grinned sadistically. "And I could finally see that I needed to wipe all this pain out. Pain that comes to us, from us."

Another snap, and Bakura was kept on his toes.

Marik had held all of Malik's pain, both physical and emotional, from him once he had been created. All the pain caused because of his family. Now that the container had been terminated, the memories had rushed Malik's frail psyche, and took over. It had pushed him over the edge.

But for now, Bakura had other things to worry about. His body was tiring quickly; the events beforehand had drained him. He was also starting to realize that Ryou was in danger. Yuugi as well, of course, but Bakura had a one-track mind when in danger, and Ryou was that one track.

Bounding for the last time, he jumped from the ground, to the wall of the pyramid, to over Malik. If he couldn't attack from the sides, he would go from above. Smirking, Bakura knew that if Malik still used his sand manipulation trick, he would have to swallow himself as well.

However, Malik just let his arm fall limply to his side, and waited for Bakura to finish.

The attacker frowned slightly, but did not stop his assault. It was not in his nature to take pity on the weak.

Leading with his foot bent like a curved blade, Bakura struck Malik right below his neck, breaking his collarbone with a sickening crack. Due to the huge amount of excess force, Malik also collapsed, pinned by Bakura's two knees and one hand.

Now that Bakura had gotten close enough, he could see all of Malik's facial features in detail. Not only were his eyes glazed over, reflecting nothing, but his mouth was also contorted in subtual pain.

Hidden to both for the moment, Ryou peeked around the corner, wondering what had happened. He gasped sharply, causing Yuugi to tiptoe over, and look as well. They both saw Bakura overtop a bleeding Malik, not to far off.

Yuugi had immediately wanted to sprint over to take a further survey of the situation, but Ryou grabbed the back of his usual school jacket and pulled him back.

"Ryou...what's gotten into you?? Malik needs us to help him..." Yuugi pleaded. His listener merely shook his head.

"Let's wait. Too many odd things have happened to assume now."

It was fortunate that they had stayed, for not long after, the sand had begun to suck its previous master to its depths. Bakura rolled away, not possessing the energy to do much more.

When Bakura had come out of contact, the rough Egyptian dust had climbed Malik's skin to cover everything, and finally took him to the desert bed. Nothing was left other than the image of a broken Egyptian boy.

Ryou made no attempt to stop his friend from rushing over, and soon joined him himself.

"Bakura..what...Malik..?" Ryou knelt beside him, pushing back confused tears.

Bakura just smiled slightly, and pulled Ryou into a well-deserved kiss.

)--(

Later that evening, Yuugi and co. had met up coincidentally with Yami and Seto at the same game store Shinu had gone into with Yuugi days prior.

Both Yami and Yuugi were overjoyed to finally see each other again, no one asked questions. Kaiba promised a quick, and slightly more comfortable, flight home the next day. Ryou found out that Isis would be coming home soon, and could take care of the legalities. What Bakura, and the hikari-tachi weren't sure of, however, was how they were going to explain all of this. In fact, they weren't sure how to explain it to the over-protective pharaoh, and sceptical CEO.

Maybe once they got back to their hotel rooms.

"Ha! My dwarf warrior beats your hobbit thief into the ground! I rolled a critical!" Honda yells. And indeed, his Monster World miniature had just whacked Yuugi's one over the head, knocking it out.

"Arg! That can't be right!" The miniature's owner glares at Honda.

"I told you, vertically challenged people can't win!" Bakura chuckles, and types in the score on his laptop. It's been a month since the pyramid incident, and nothing weird had happened since they arrived in Domino. Now, Ryou is hosting their annual Monster World fest. He had invited both Yuugi and Yami, of course, and Jou and Honda.

They had left a note for Isis to call them, and informed her over the phone everything that had happened. Or at least from their perspective. She had thanked them, though it sounded like she was probably going to stop the flow of museum tours for quite a while.

After the mini-campaign is finished, guests say their thanks, just like always, and leave at the same time, like so long ago when they had played for real for the first time. With them all gone, Ryou Bakura turns to his dark, Bakura.

"Do you ever think we'll be affected by that 'Turning' thing, Bakura?" When he says this, the sigh imbedded is quite noticeable.

"You still worry about that? It's been over four weeks," the dark says bluntly. Seeing the pout on his hikari's face, he chuckles, and pulls them both onto the couch. "I'm sure we can handle whatever they're planning to chuck at us next, love. After all, we've been through the ancient tomb of our friend, the pharaoh, beaten psychotic freaks, met up with three thousand year old acquaintances, and destroyed a sand-monster. What else could possibly happen?"

Ryou merely rolls his eyes and settles into Bakura's lap.

_Wake Up_

* * *

Me: :D yeah! (shifty eyes) took over a month to do it, but none-the-less! IT IS COMPLETE!!!!! XD XD (dances like Sakano. see gravitation episode 1 for further comprehension) 

'Leanne: (unconscious from the amount of work she did for her hikari) zzz...

all the Wake Up cast, chibi-ized: YAY!!! :D

Ryou: (laughs hysterically at the sight of chibi-ized Baku-kun)

Me: ;-; the original ending for the chapter was eaten by my ancient laptop... Actually, the entire chapter was eaten, as I promptly started to cackle maniacally because I thought those three weeks of work had been for nothing, before I realized that if I searched for all files when I went to open another file, it would give me a screwed-up version of what I had written. So...yeah... That also slowed down production... TT-TT

'Leanne: (wakes up) -.- zzz...what? Oh, well... (shifty eyes)

Me: :D none-the-less! It is complete, and I am willing to do something of either an epilogue (I don't think so, though. It would have to be either too short, or too long) or a sequel. However! (stresses 'however') I will not be writing it for a while! I do want to finish Kept In The Dark, after all...

'Leanne: (goes back to sleep)

Me: (bows repeatedly) Thank you to all the reviewers who have stuck through with me until the end! (go Tears Of Darkness! wh00p!) Your support was what kept this story going through all the writer's block I've encountered! (and believe me, there was many... -.-) Again! Luv you all! See ya in Kept In The Dark, chapter 12!

- Ja ne, mina-sama!


End file.
